


The Walking Dead: Reprisal

by mind_tardis



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon Related, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Implied or Off-stage Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mental Instability, Psychological Trauma, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Season/Series 04, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:12:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 56
Words: 335,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mind_tardis/pseuds/mind_tardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world she knew was gone. Keiko Watanabe (forced on her own by the death of her family) is out to seek her only surviving friend, and those responsible for the virus. Smart, skilled, manipulative, and dangerous, she goes through her new life working the strings of this new society, doing whatever it takes to survive.<br/>"...In a world ruled by the dead,<br/>we are forced to finally start living..."<br/>[The story goes along with the show. Starting around a little after "Save The Last One" and goes from there.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Airport

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to The Walking Dead: Reprisal. I hope you enjoy the ride. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope the lot of you enjoy it just as much. Now, because I want you all to have maximum comfort and enjoyment, I will give you a few warnings ahead of time:  
> 1\. There will be triggering subjects in this story: Violence, Blood, Gore (all that good zombie stuff), but please note that a portion in here is the subject of rape and child abuse and molestation. On that note, please know that I won't get super descriptive/graphic on the subjects of rape, child abuse, etc. (if anything it's mild-moderate, but NEVER severe.) But as the reader i feel you should know regardless that they are there. So if any of those subjects make you feel really uncomfortable or it triggers you, then I wouldn't suggest reading this. 
> 
> AND THAT IS ALL.  
> Enjoy, my little darlings. xx

**_The virus has completely devastated over 150 of the world’s major regions and is spreading rapidly. At this point in time we know of only one method of killing the creatures: destroy the brain. Be on the guard of any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact with the infected. And if you find yourself out in a threatening position, please do not hesitate to act._ **

**_Again. This is not a test._ **

**_This is not a joke. Be on the guard of any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact with the infected._ **

**_Stay safe, and God bless…_ **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"Furaito A 2907 ga okurete iru. Wareware wa nani ga okotte iru ka haaku suru made omachikudasai…”_

“What’d they say?” Miho asked, her tiny hand gripping onto the hem of her big sister’s skirt. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=85340192&lid=1950767) looked up at the flight board in worry. Their flight to Japan had been delayed, and no one knew the reason why. Her eyes traveled up and down and read the same thing repeatedly: Delayed. No planes were departing, and none were arriving. Everyone was looking around and asking each other questions, but no one knew the answers. Kei turned to her mother. She was over by her dad, helping him sit their parents down in chairs while they waited. 

“ _Onee-chan_ ,” [Miho](http://www.polyvore.com/miho/set?id=85341102&lid=1950767) peeped, “What’d they say just now?”

“They said our flight had been delayed, and not to worry,” She summarized, looking around as airport employees and security darted around with walkie talkies. Something wasn’t right.

“Kei, Miho,” Her father spoke sharply, “Come here.”

Kei’s mother opened up her arms and little Miho rushed over, leaping into them without hesitation. Kei stepped over to her father, getting lead a little ways away from her family so they could talk in private.

“I talked to security,” He spoke quietly, “Apparently a couple guys who were infected got on a flight to Europe. They’re delaying everything, and they’re not letting anyone in or out of the airport.”

“Well who would want to go out?” Kei scoffed, “There’s tons of those things out there. That’s why we’re here.”

“I know, I know,” Her father replied lowly, “But they’re not letting anyone _get on the planes_ , Kei. Listen.”

She watched her father’s eyes wander around the airport. His eyebrows were knitted together in worry.

“Something’s very wrong here,” He murmured, looking back to his daughter, “We have to leave.”

“Leave?” Kei spoke with wide eyes, “B-But what about our things? Our suitcases, we checked them all in alrea—”

“All of that can be replaced, Keiko,” He interrupted, “Right now we have to try and leave. Something doesn‘t feel right.”

Kei turned her head and looked over to her mother and Miho. They were playing a clapping game while their grandparents watched with light smiles. She turned back to her father, nodding her head lightly and mustering her courage.

“Where do we go?” She asked, giving him a determined look.

“The summer home,” He answered, “It’s our best bet for right now. Go, get yours and Miho‘s bag.”

Kei nodded lightly and walked back towards the rest of her family. She picked up Miho’s backpack and slipped it on to her shoulders. As she did so, her father walked up to her mother and explained the situation. He told her about how security was closing everyone in, and had no intention of letting any of them out any time soon. Something serious was happening here, and it wasn’t good. Kei had grabbed her own bag and shouldered it when the sounds of yells and screams rang out from further ahead. The young girl looked onward and saw others rushing towards them, yelling and shouting in horror. Further back, she could see military men with guns. They pointed it at the crowd and started yelling for everyone to get in line and get in order. Kei rushed over to her mom and took hold of her arm. Her father helped her grandparents up and they started making their way with the crowd, bunching up to the very end of the airport and getting backed into the wall. Rows upon rows of military men and women had their guns pointed directly at the crowd.

“All men come forward!” A solider in front yelled, “I repeat, ALL MEN COME FORWARD.”

Many men young and old came forward with their hands up in defense. Her father however, being as little as he was, managed to sneak his way behind Kei. Right at this moment, she was thankful for being taller than him. Women started to whimper and cry, some holding their children tightly as they watched their husbands march up against the other wall. Several of them asked about what was happening, but the questions only fell on deaf ears. The soldiers still kept their guns pointed to the women.

“All women must go to the next concourse!” The soldier in front yelled, “ALL WOMEN MUST GO TO THE NEXT CONCOURSE! NO EXCEPTIONS!”

“Mommy, what’s going on?” Miho asked, her voice transforming into a whine.

Kei looked to her mother. She didn’t answer, she just hugged her little girl tightly and turned to walk with the crowd of women and children. Kei kept her back close to her father’s front, trying her best to block him from the soldiers. Other women started to crowd around him as well, along with other men who were attempting to use their height to their advantage.

“Walkers!” A man screamed, “We’ve got walkers!”

All the women looked around frantically, their voices raising into frenzied high pitched screams. The soldiers started pushing them with their guns, knocking some onto the floor. Chaos ensued soon after. Within a blink of an eye they were running down the hall like a herd of cattle. Everyone kept saying “forward! Move forward!” and “don’t look back!” Miho wailed into her mother’s arms and gripped her tightly. Kei gripped onto her mother’s hand. She looked around frantically for her father and grandparents, but all she could see were crying women and children running for dear life. She could hear bullets flying rapidly over the sound of her racing heartbeat, the screaming grew louder, and before she knew it, a sudden flash appeared, blinding her instantly.

“KEIKO!!”

The girl shot open her eyes and sat up with a gasp. Her heart thumped loudly in her heaving chest. She looked around. She was alone, still alone in this long since abandoned house. She could hear rustling in the woods outside. They were growing restless. They would need food soon.

She laid her head back on the damp pillow and looked up at the dirty ceiling. She tried to close her eyes again, but memories of the airport kept flashing behind her eyelids, and the sounds of blood splattering onto the wooden floor rang in her ear. She opened her eyes again and looked to her right. Her sword laid beside her, ready and awaiting to be carried or used. She stared at her weapon, the sound of it slashing across flesh ringing in her ears. She screwed her eyes shut. She could hear their heads rolling, their lifeless bodies hitting the floor, their hushed whispers of comfort and bidding her goodbye. She turned away from her weapon sharply and sobbed into her damp blankets until dawn.

* * *

  _“Where is she?”  Warden Stiles asked out, approaching the office that stood on the other side of the interrogation room. A police man that looked about his early 30’s trailed after her with a thick manila folder in his hands._

_“She’s in the room already,” Officer James T. Sandusky announced, “Officials found her in the local cemetery, sitting at her biological parents’ grave.”_

_Warden Stiles turned around to look at the officer, her stern brown eyes staring at him with authority._

_“And you’re sure she’s the one that set the fire,”_

_“She openly admitted it to us,” The man answered, “Says that she was putting a stop to them hurting her and her sister.”_

_Warden Stiles turned around and looked into the windowless room. A young girl with long black hair and a round face was sitting at the table. Her big dark eyes were staring intently at the metal table top before looking over to the one-way glass. The warden’s eyes tore away and looked to officer Sandusky standing next to her._

_“What’s her name?” She inquired. Officer Sandusky quickly opened up the file and flipped through the pages, stopping on one yellow sheet with a picture attached to it._

_“Keiko Watanabe,” He answered, reading off the info inside the file, “Eight years old, came here from Japan with her parents when she was only four. Records show they ran into some money trouble and were on the verge of facing fraud charges. Both of them committed suicide in their home in Camden, New Jersey. She’s been tossed around in the system ever since.”_

_“Has she been Psychologically evaluated?” The warden asked. The man continued to flip through the file, reading over the it‘s contents carefully._

_“Last checkup was when she was 5,” He answered, “She passed all the tests with flying colors actually.”_

_The warden nodded and looked back to the little girl in the lonely interrogation room. She was still staring in the warden‘s direction, a deadpan expression plastered on her little face._

_“How’s the brother?” Stiles asked, watching the little girl closely with squinted eyes._

_“Alive,” Sandusky answered, looking through the one way mirror as well, “She burned the poor bastard to a crisp. Doctors haven’t given word on how bad it is exactly, but judging by what the boys are saying at the hospital, it looks bad.”_

_The middle aged woman chewed on the inside of her lip and furrowed. Keiko’s eyes were still on her, looking directly into the glass as if she knew that the woman was on the other side. She showed no signs of trauma, no remorse, there wasn’t a single tear rolling down her chubby cheeks._

_“There’s something really wrong with that kid, Warden,” Sandusky warned in an uneasy tone, “She hasn’t cried once since we brought her here…”_

_The Warden looked to the worried Officer before looking back at little Keiko on the other side of the glass. The middle aged woman observed her closely, trying to read this her body language and figure out what her little game was. Only, there was no game. There was just a little girl who was sick of the hurt, and took it upon herself to make it stop._

_"_ _She’s had that creepy look on her face the entire time,” She heard the man next to her say, “It’s almost like she‘s…proud of it…”_

_T_ _he woman watched and furrowed as the eight-year-old suddenly smiled at her._

* * *

_"Kami wa, watashi o mamoru…"  
_ (God, protect me.)

Kei let out a small “amen” and opened her eyes. She looked up at her family photo on the fireplace mantle. They were outside at a park in Japan, cherry blossom trees surrounding them. Their grandpa had taken the picture, his hand blocked grandma’s head a little. Her mother and father were holding little Miho together, kissing her cheeks while Kei herself held up a peace sign and laughed. Those were better times, so much better. If only she could somehow go back to that.

But she couldn’t. Not in this life, anyway.

The bells chimed from the doorway. Another victim had stumbled past the trip wire in front. Kei twisted her lips to the side and grabbed her sword from beside her. She got up, looked at the photo, and then turned away to head outside. It was time to take care of the little problem outside her door.

She stepped out onto the porch to find two walkers stumbling about outside the fence. The spikes on the fence had been decorated with the decapitated heads and arms of previous foes, but that didn’t stop them from attempting to break through and try to get their next meal. The girl stepped onto the porch and pressed the doorbell, the gate sliding open just barely to let them both through. They hobbled forward and hissed, reaching out with their wrinkled arms and licking their rotted bloody teeth. The young girl pressed the doorbell again and the gate swung shut. She then drew out her katana and leapt off the porch, lunging for the first one and sticking her sword straight into its belly. She pulled it out and swiftly swung it around in an arc, managing to slice off its head in one clean swing.

She kicked the body down and lunged for the next one, this time swinging diagonally and slicing its head off in one go. The two bodies crumpled to the ground with a loud thud, staining the grass dark red with blood. She picked up the heads casually and stuck each one on a spike, smiling lightly at the sound of a long, drawn out howl from the woods. Two wolves darted in and out of the trees, making their way down towards the fence.  Both of them leapt over, rushing up towards Kei and growling at the decapitated walkers on the ground. The flared their teeth and snarled at the bodies, their backs arched, as if waiting for the lifeless creatures to get up and move.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” She soothed, “I took care of it. What’d you guys get?”

The two dogs immediately loosened up and turned towards Kei with excitement, their tails wagging behind them. [Ren](http://i44.tinypic.com/bg4cbd.jpg), a beautiful brown-eyed red wolf with unusually large ears, held a dead rabbit in her mouth. [Ame](http://i42.tinypic.com/70l768.jpg) (pronounced ah-may), a strong looking gray wolf with gold eyes had a large tailess squirrel in his mouth.  Kei smiled lightly at her companions’ finds and pointed to the house. The two wolves darted inside without hesitation and made their way into the kitchen.

Kei skinned and cleaned the animals as best as she could, putting all the entrails in a bowl and setting it out for Ren and Ame to feed on. While they ate, Kei attempted to cook up bits of squirrel and rabbit over a couple canister stoves.

“We’re going to have to move again, guys,” She spoke, watching as her two companions continued to eat, “More of those things keep closing in, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get overrun by the end of the week.”

Ren looked up from the bowl and licked her lips, staring at Kei intently as she popped a bit of cooked squirrel meat into her mouth. She dipped her head back down, nudging Ame out of the way to get more food. Kei looked at the two and chuckled lightly. How is that two wolves from the north managed to wander their way around the south? How is it that they found her? They just came out of nowhere. They had managed to avoid walkers, military men burning the forests, starvation, and even the dead cold of winter. Those two weren’t ordinary wolves. Wolves avoided humans, these ones went up to her, stuck loyally by her side, defended here wherever they went. They were two blessings in disguise, her guardian angels in this messed up form of hell.

She was alone. All alone in the woods, covered in fresh blood with no food, no water, and only an old sword at hand. She was sitting outside a cave near the creek, crying helplessly into her bloodied hands. She had no plan, no family, and no motivation to live on. What else was there to live for?

She had heard the water gently splash a few feet ahead of her, making her look up from her hands. That’s where she saw them. Two wolves with their paws in the water, staring at her contently with their intense eyes. They didn’t growl or bare their teeth. They just watched her, and waited. She wiped her eyes and watched as they cautiously made their way up to her. She froze in place as they sniffed and circled around her. When they finally stopped, the gray wolf’s face was only inches from her own. They were staring at each other, eye to eye. She sniffled a little and wiped her eyes again, more blood smearing across her face. The grey wolf leaned closer, and that’s when the fearful girl shut her eyes. Something warm and wet gently brushed against her eyelid. Something similar brushed up against her cheek. The wolves began to lick her face over and over, cleaning off the blood and tears staining her cheeks.

It was after their strange meeting that the wolves followed her wherever she went. She couldn’t understand why, but after witnessing how useful they were, she’d be a fool as to try and send them off. They would lead walkers away with their howls and barks as she ran through the woods. They fought off other unfriendly survivors who’d try to take what’s hers or harm her in any way. With their amazing sense of smell they would find food and gas, and also warn her if any walkers were nearby. They weren’t just handy tools for survival anymore. They had become her friends and her family, and vice versa.

It was early morning when [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai_zombie_apocalypse/set?id=60517158&lid=1950767) opened up the front gate and packed up her supplies. She brought all her sleeping stuff out to the H3 Hummer. She had stolen it when her and her family made a dash out of Atlanta. Placed in the back, her family had scavenged for enough medicine to last them a long while, but it was weapons, food, and shelter that she was truly struggling on. She was pretty low on ammo, and she was running out of arrows to use for all those silent kills. None of these houses that she’d been squatting at have any working heaters, and winter was guaranteed to come no matter what.

Still, that didn’t stop her from moving, from going place to place until she could find what she was truly looking for.

The young girl got into the car and shut the door with a sigh, turning her head to watch Ren and Ame hop over the fence. The two wolves made their way into the woods, disappearing behind the sea of trees and leaves. She smiled lightly and started her car, backing out and continuing her journey towards Fort Benning. 


	2. Sherwood Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She was hungry,”
> 
> “We’re all hungry, doesn’t give her a right to sneak in here and steal...”

The trees rustled and whispered in the wind as a gentle breeze blew by. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=61073815) carefully walked through the forest, her heartbeat steady, her footsteps as light and quiet as possible. The smell of dampened earth and wet leaves filled her nose as she walked on. Another gentle rush of wind came, the air feeling so cool against her skin. The leaves clattered and the trees groaned over the sound of squawking birds. She took a deep breath through her nose, the scent of water faintly resting on the breeze. A creek was nearby. She looked down at the ground, observing the shift in the leaves and the faint imprints in the dirt. An animal was near as well. It was a deer, judging by the tracks.

She prepared her bow and arrow and looked around carefully. She stepped forward, looking ahead and noticing the creek from only a few feet away. She closed her eyes. She could hear the gentle sound of water flowing, and something else. Something was treading through the water. The sounds weren’t heavy like that of a walker. They were light and graceful. She smiled and opened her eyes, rushing forward and stopping behind a tree only a foot away from the bank. She poked her head out and saw the deer about 7 or 8 feet away, standing in the creek. Its little black nose was pressed against the water, simply drinking away as Kei gently pulled back the bowstring and quietly stepped out.

She held the bow up and drew the arrow back further, pressing her string hand to the corner of her mouth. Her eyes followed the arrow as she pointed it right at the creature’s neck. The deer’s head perked up, ears flicking from side to side. A small crackle went off to her far right. It was light, not heavy and loud like a Walker. Probably another animal. She kept her eyes focused on the deer. She took a slow inhale and let go, the arrow whizzing forward and hitting the deer right in the neck. The animal jerked to the left, and then to the front, indicating that something else hit the animal as well. Fast footsteps sounded to her right. They were fast, not like and steady an animal, and definitely not heavy and sloppy like a walker.

 That only meant one thing: a living enemy.

 Kei furrowed and put up her hood. She quickly got out another arrow and placed it on her bow as she stepped behind the tree. She peeked out from the other side and waited. She watched carefully as the deer laid on the ground, its blood flowing along with the water.

She heard rustling to her right, and suddenly a figure appeared. It was a man. He was fairly tall, muscular, wearing only dirty jeans and an equally dirty flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He held out a crossbow and kept it pointed at the deer. He clearly was a hunter, and a damn good tracker by the looks of it. He leapt down into the creek and strode over to the animal lying on the ground. She watched closely as he got one knee and shouldered his weapon. The poor deer twitched in place as the man patted its stomach and got out his hunting knife. She watched as he put the deer out of its misery, yanking out his arrow from its side, and then Kei’s arrow from its neck. He stared at it for quite some time, observing its features closely.

“ _Fuck_ ,” She hissed, watching as the man looked around curiously for her. He placed the arrows in his own quiver and held up his crossbow, taking only a few steps forward and turning around in every direction.

“Who‘s out there?!” He called out, his raspy voice thick with a southern drawl.

Kei didn’t answer. Her heart started to race slightly. She wanted this deer so badly. She was so sick of squirrel and rabbit. There was enough meat on that buck to feed Ren, Ame and herself for days, maybe even weeks. She couldn’t give it up.

“Daryl! Did you get something?!” Another voice called. Another male, accent thicker than the hunter’s.

“Course I did,” The hunter called back, “Some other bastard’s been huntin’ out here too. Shot the damn thing a little after I did.”

“ _After? Please….”_

“Wait, someone else is out here?” She heard a boy relatively younger speak, “Like…a living someone?”

“Yeah,” The hunter muttered, “Hey! Huntin’ guy! Why don’t ya come out and say hi?! Get back this arrow you dropped.”

Kei didn’t answer, she let her head fall against the tree and mentally swore at herself.

“No? Don’t want it? Well then it’s mine!” He called out, “The deer is too, much obliged!”

_Oh hell no._

Kei put her fingers to her lips and let out a high pitched whistle. She could hear the guns cocking behind her. Guns, So there were two more people with the hunter. The light and rapid beat of paws hitting against dirt and leaves grew louder and louder. Kei looked ahead and saw Ren and Ame rush past her, darting down the bank. She drew back her bow and arrow and rushed out from behind the tree. Three men stood at the center of the creek beside her kill. There was the hunter, and then a shorter man with dark eyes, a tight black shirt, and a shaved head. He looked like he was ex-military, maybe even a police officer in his old life. Either way he had an authoritative vibe about him. Next to him was a small Korean guy in a baseball cap with a shotgun in his hand. He looked terrified out of his mind, but by his stance, she could tell that he was prepared to do what he needed to do. The shorter man with the dark shirt held out a black pistol, pointing it right at her.

“Mind puttin’ down yer weapon?!” He asked out, “We only came here to get some food.”

Ren and Ame leapt down from the bank and bared their teeth, growling menacingly at the three men. The Korean boy quickly shifted between pointing his gun at Kei, and the red wolf eyeing him viciously. The hunter pointed his crossbow at Ame and looked back at the man with the shaved head.

“The hell did these damn wolves come from?!” He growled.

Kei stepped closer to them, her bow and arrow still pointed in their direction. The police man lowered his gun and held his hands out. He decided to try and use words instead.

“Listen, we don’ want any trouble,” He assured, “We just came here to hunt for some food. Lot of us’re hungry, and my friend Daryl here’s been trackin this deer for some time.”

Daryl, so that’s what the hunter’s name was.

“Shane we ain’t got time for this,” The hunter argued, “Let’s just put a bullet through these mutt’s heads and end this!”

Kei immediately pointed her arrow in Daryl’s direction. Daryl pointed his own weapon right back. The shorter man held his arms out with a “whoa whoa whoa!” and tried to get between them.

“Alright now, he didn’t mean that,” He urged, “We ain’t here to harm you or yer uh… _friends_. We just want some food.”

Kei kept her arrow pointed right at the hunter, her dark eyes fixed on his blue ones.

“M’name’s Shane,” The shorter guy informed while putting his hand to his chest, “The guy with the crossbow is Daryl, and the guy to my left is Glenn.”

“And what’s your name, huh?” Daryl asked in a scornful tone, “Hows ‘bout you pull that hood down so we know who to thank fer the deer.”

Again, Kei didn’t answer. She just looked down at the deer, and then at the group. One arrow against 3 guns was quite a risk. Clearly, this was a situation that she wasn’t going to win. If she tried grabbing for the deer sure she'd be dead, but Ren and Ame would be killed as well. She could tolerate eating squirrel for one more day, surely.

“Asked ya a question, Robin Hood!” She heard Daryl bark, “You gonna answer it!? Or we gonna be here till next Sunday!?”

“Daryl!” Shane jeered.

Suddenly Ren and Ame’s growling ceased. They perked up beside her and stayed quiet for only a second before barking out towards the woods. Two barks. Walkers were near.

“S’going on?” Shane asked, looking to the mysterious hooded figure for an answer. The three men noticed the wolves’ strange behavior and began to shift uncomfortably. Again, Kei didn't say a word to them. Instead, she put her arrow back into her quiver, shouldered her bow, and then bolted away as quick as lighting. She could hear Shane calling after her, but she didn’t have time. Walkers must have picked up on the deer blood in the water, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be here when they came running for the source.

She rushed through the woods, climbing over fallen trees and leaping over large roots without faltering. Her senses went wild. The smell of wet earth filled her nose, the air filled her lungs, the wind felt cool against her sweaty face. Ren and Ame ran beside her, following her every move, encouraging her to keep running. She felt wild, alive and bursting with energy. These were one of the few moments were things felt okay for a bit.

After a few minutes of running, they finally made it back onto the highway. Several abandoned cars covered the single road, managing to be a perfect disguise for their makeshift home. Kei and the wolves rushed through the graveyard and made their way over to a Black H3 Hummer. Home Sweet Home.

She opened up the passenger seat and waited for Ren and Ame to leap inside. She leapt in last and shut the door, locking it along with all the others in the process. The two wolves attempted to bound their way to the backseat as Kei scooted over to start the car. Once she got in the driver’s seat however, she noticed movement up ahead. It wasn’t human movement, nor was it walker movement. It was car movement. Someone was driving an old Winnebago up ahead.

Kei stared at the vehicle in thought. Maybe it was the rest of Shane’s group. Maybe that’s where they were camped, and maybe his group had some extra food.

And then suddenly, a grand idea sparked in her head.

Where there was a group, there were weapons.

And where there were weapons, there was ammo.

Kei turned to the back and told Ren and Ame to stay put. She reached in back and grabbed her Katana, shouldering it along with her bow. Slowly, she made her way out of the car and through the graveyard, keeping her head low and her footsteps light. She was only 3 cars away from the RV when she heard voices. Several more voices. There were two women and two more men.

“Hopefully the deer Daryl brings back won’t already have been snacked on by a walker,” she heard a woman speak, “I don’t know about you, but I _really_ don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“No guarantees there,” She heard a man much older reply, “You know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any real animals. Cats, dogs, birds. They probably sensed the end of the world and ran out of the country.”

“Or they all just got eaten,” Another man mentioned.

Kei crept closer to the RV. She pressed up against the rear and made her way onto the ladder. She quietly climbed up and army crawled her way across the roof. She gently lifted a piece of the hood up and looked down into the bathroom. The screen that would have blocked her way in had already been ripped open. All that was left was the fan. She reached down and gently lifted it upwards, trying her best not to make too much noise or move enough for someone to notice. Once she removed the fan, she gently slid it to her side and started making her way in. She turned over and slid in carefully feet first. Once her whole body was in, she hung from the edge and placed her feet on the bathroom sink. She managed to get in and land as soft as she could without shaking the vehicle. Bingo.

She looked around and smiled. It’s been awhile since she’d seen a working bathroom before. For a split second, she was tempted to use it. She quickly shook her head though, and got back into the game. She had a mission: find weapons, find ammo, find food. She carefully walked over to the bathroom door and slid it open ever so slightly. She couldn’t see anyone in the front. She slid it open more and poked her head out. No one in front, and no one in back. They were all still outside doing god knows what.

Whosever's vehicle this was, they sure traveled a lot. There were pictures of famous landmarks and beautiful landscapes scattered across the room. A fishing rod hung on the wall, and a flag was pinned against the window. Something about this particular place reminded Kei of the world before all this mess. It was nice, and had a sense of home about it that she had long since forgot. Whoever inhabited this place couldn’t be that threatening.

She quickly snapped out of her curiosity. She only had precious little time. She quickly exited the bathroom and started to look. Her heart and mind were racing at this moment. Guns, bullet boxes, anything. She looked where the bed was. Just women’s clothing and books and old food wrappers. She walked over to the kitchen area and checked the cupboards. She swiped a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers, but no ammo boxes. She turned around and checked under the table, smiling instantly.  A bag with the word “SHERRIFF” in big bold letters. Now what could be in there?

“ _We ain’t find nothin yet,_ ” She heard a familiar voice speak. She perked up. Shane, Daryl, and Glenn had returned.

“ _We saw someone in the woods,_ ” She heard Shane announce, “ _Woman by the looks of it. She was huntin’ the same deer we were. She booked it before we got a chance to ask about Sophia. Her little pets musta sensed those walkers comin’…_ ”

She perked up and quickly started going through the bag. A couple boxes of bullets, three or four hand guns, one sniper rifle, two shot guns and a couple boxes of shot gun rounds. She quickly shoved the ammo boxes into her backpack along with the two handguns. She was about to grab the shot gun rifle as well, but then the front door swung open behind her. The Asian boy with the baseball cap, Glenn, was standing there. His eyes went wide in sudden shock.

“Wh…” He let out, his voice momentarily caught in his throat.

 She didn’t even give him time to think. She dropped the rifle and started rushing towards the bathroom.

"Guys! Guys there’s someone in here!” She heard Glenn yell, “Someone’s taking our stuff!!”

“ _Shit, shit, shit!_ ” She thought out.

She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it and jumping back when she heard a loud bang. Someone was trying to kick the door in.

“Ya damned theif! Come out here!” She heard Shane yell.

“She stole guns, I-it’s that girl we saw in the woods,” Glenn answered frantically.

“Couldn’t bother givin’ up the deer so you steal from us, huh?!”

Kei quickly climbed onto the sink and leapt up, grabbing onto the edge of fan’s opening and lifting herself up. She heard the bathroom door break and panic struck. She quickly scrambled her way out and heard a swear echo from the bathroom.

“Dammit!” She heard Shane yell, “Daryl! She’s on the roof!”

She kept her body low this time as she crawled out. She heard voices outside the RV, everyone rushing around and frantically asking what was going on. She could hear the sounds of guns being cocked. Chances were Daryl had his crossbow out, and was waiting for her to stand up so he could use it. She put her fingers to her lips and let out another high pitched whistle, this time in a series of short intervals to signal “ _I’m in_ _danger._ ”

“Come on down, Robin Hood!”

“We don‘t want to hurt you, we just want our stuff back!” Shane reasoned loudly, “Just give us our weapons and we’ll forget this ever happened!”

 

A long and drawn out howl went off, and suddenly one of the women let out a shrill cry. Kei smirked lightly and stood up, running across the roof and quickly making her way down the ladder. Once she hit the ground Ame rushed past her, weaving in and out of cars and barking madly at the group of survivors. A gun went off along with a short _pang_. Whoever fired had missed their target. Kei kept running towards the hummer for dear life. She could hear Shane yelling for everyone to get in the Winnebago and let him and Glenn handle it. The young girl scoffed and let out another whistle, stopping only briefly to look back and see her two companions running for the woods. She smirked lightly and turned back to run, but quickly knocked into a thick body of muscle. It was Daryl, and he looked mad as all hell.  She let out a cry as he grabbed her arms and attempted to take hold of her.

“Shut up!” He seethed, “You got alotta balls, bringin’ yer theivin’ ass ‘round here, tryin’a steal from us.”

She jerked around violently to get out of his grasp, but he had an iron grip.

“Stop movin’!”

“Daryl!” She heard Glenn cry out.

“Over here!” He called back, looking down at Kei with fire in his eyes, “Yer in for it now, Robin Hood. Maybe we should let ya hang, leave ya for the walkers. Sound fair to you?”

She let out another cry and jerked around even harder than before. She flailed her body around, her spindly legs attempting to kick him in the shin or the groin. She put her lips together and let out another loud whistle, getting cut off only a few seconds in by one large, dirty, and blood stained hand.

“Don’t even think of callin’ yer little buddies!” He warned bitterly, “Once we’re done with you, I’ll hunt ‘em down myself and cook my group up a nice big meal of Wolf!”

Kei opened her mouth wide and bit him on the hand. Daryl let out a loud swear and loosened his grip. She managed to jerk herself away and kick him in the stomach. She turned around. Shane and Glenn were only a few feet away. She turned back and made a run for it, she could hear Shane’s yells and Daryl’s swears echoing behind her. She made it to the hummer and hit the ground, rolling underneath it to hide. She could hear Daryl’s footsteps thumping about along with Shane and Glenn’s. They stopped right in front of her. Shuffling around and turning every which way.

“Can you track her from here?!” Shane asked.

“Bit hard seein’ as we’re on a road full of goddamn cars!” Daryl bit.

“Hey no need to get mouthy to me! You’re the one who lost her!” Shane growled.

“Well I ain’t the one who went all John Lennon in the woods!” Daryl sassed, “Should’a taken her out while we had the chance!”

“Guys, we have no more ammo,” She heard Glenn speak, his voice dripping with worry, “What are we gonna do?”

“We’ll head back to the farm,” Shane answered, “See if Hershel has any more. If not, you might need to make a run into town.”

Kei took small, shallow breaths through her nose as she listened closely. A farm, huh? That sounded nice.

“What are we going to tell Rick and the others?” Glenn asked.

“The truth,” Daryl replied, “A no good asshole looter snuck in an’ took our stuff.”

Others. So there were more. How many were there, exactly? A couple families, a small neighborhood maybe? This farm sounded nice, maybe big enough for her to sneak around in. She could swipe a few eggs, and maybe even a few chickens for Ame and Ren. Maybe this farm had vegetables too.

This place sounded too good to pass up. She could leave the car here, steal and stock up on food for a couple days, and then come back and head out to Fort Benning. Perfect.

“Alright, alright here’s what we do,” Shane spoke, “I’m assumin’ that little thief has a camp ‘round here somewhere. Probably comes here time to time to grab food and clothes and stuff. When we come back to look for Sophia, Daryl, you go on an’ take Glenn to help you track down the girl.”

She watched as three sets of male feet trotted on back towards the RV. She rolled out from the other side and peeked over the hood as Glenn and Shane went inside the RV. Daryl made his way onto a motorcycle, taking a seat and revving it up. The hunter turned his bike around and zipped his way past her car. Meanwhile, the RV was starting up. Kei quickly went into her car and grabbed her backpack and a medicine kit. She quietly shut the door and weaved her way around the cars as she headed for the RV. Right when the back of the vehicle was facing her, she quickly ran for the ladder and latched on, holding on for dear life as she went along with the survivors towards this farm.

She made note of the turns and roads that they took as the approached what she assumed was the farm. It was huge, a lot bigger and more open than she expected. Big amber fields as far as she could see that were stopped by the lining of forest. It was so warm and quiet that it could easily be mistaken as a new world with no violence or dangers. She could see a fire lit over by a couple trees, and the silhouettes of living bodies moving around it. The RV was heading right towards the camp, and that’s when Kei started to climb the ladder. She made her way onto the roof and looked up. A branch was heading her way. She reached for it and jumped up, clinging on and climbing it as the RV went on a few feet ahead. She made her way into the tree and climbed on, making her way across and onto the other side closer the fire. She was far enough so that no one could make her out in the dark, but by dawn she would have to move. There weren’t a lot of leaves in this tree, and she definitely would be spotted in broad daylight.

Kei watched as Shane and the others left the RV and walked over to the fire. Three women; one tan blonde, one tall brunette, and the soft spoken woman with really short grey hair. There were six men as well. She recognized Shane, Daryl and Glenn, but she didn’t recognize the old man in the fisherman’s cap, the bald man with the bandaged arm, nor the tall man standing up with his hands on his hips. His movements, the way his eyes looked to each and every one of them, she could tell he was the leader.

“What happened?” The tall one asked, “Y’all alright?”

“Yeah, yeah we are but…well, we got a problem man,” Shane spoke, walking up next to him. Kei watched closely as Shane put his hand on the leader’s shoulder. They’re best friends, worked together before the virus hit. They were both officers of some kind, going by their posture. Shane is second in command of the group.

 “Some damn girl stole all our ammo,” Daryl announced, taking a seat on a lawn chair next to the fire.

“Wait, what?” The leader asked out.

“We was huntin’ in the woods when Daryl brought down a buck,” Shane explained, “Some girl with her hood up was huntin’ the same one. Before we could ask her name or anythin’ about Sophia, she bolted.”

“She’s fast,” Daryl mentioned, scooping himself up some of what was in the pot, “Smart too, somewhat. She even got a couple of wolves followin’ her.”

A tall brunette woman held her hand up to Daryl, stopping him before he could go on.

 “Wait a minute, wait a minute… _wolves_?”

“Yeah, wolves,” Shane answered, “She found the RV and snuck in through the openin’ above the bathroom. We had her surrounded on the roof when all of the sudden she whistles and these two wolves come outta nowhere. We was busy tryin’ to get everyone safe when she got away.”

“She managed to steal all the handgun ammo, took some food too,” Glenn mentioned sheepishly when everyone looked to him, “J-Just some…peanut butter and crackers though, a-and two handguns. She was about to take the rifles too, but I came in and I…guess I spooked her.”

“Rick,” Shane spoke, looking to the tall man for guidance, “What you want us to do, man?”

Kei squinted her eyes at the leader. Rick, huh? Handsome, from what she could see by firelight. Tall, lean, his face slightly brushed with dirt. His face was gentle, but he stood tall with an almost commanding presence that portrayed authority. He was thinking deeply about their next move. She could tell that he did that a lot.

“Do y’all think she’s a threat?” He asked, looking towards Daryl for confirmation.

“She’s a crafty sumbitch,” He answered honestly, “If she really ain’t, her little pets are if she sicks ‘em on us. I‘d say she ain‘t afraid of doin’ whatever it takes to survive.”

Kei couldn’t help but smirk. He didn’t know the half of it. She watched as Rick paced around a little before looking to the group.

“The RV stays here,” He spoke sternly, “No one but the men go out to the highway until we can be sure that this girl and her friends are gone. I don’t want anyone else goin’ off  lookin’ for Sophia and end up gettin’ hurt. We don’t know the full extent of what this girl can do, or if she has any _human_ friends out there in the woods. For right now, she‘s a threat.”

He turned to Shane and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll take the truck up there tomorrow and continue the search for Sophia,” He offered. His best friend nodded, turning with Rick to look back at the group.

“Alright y’all, best get some shut eye, we got a big day tomorrow,” He quickly took Rick’s shoulder and held him back for a moment, “I was hopin’ to send Daryl out on a side mission to track the girl, see if he can find our guns and missin ammo. We think she might be campin’ out there in the woods.”

Kei licked her lips a little and watched as Rick nodded, patting his friend’s shoulder before breaking away to go with the brunette woman to their tent. So, the tall and skinny brunette is his wife, and they’ve been married for quite some time by the looks of it. Everyone started setting into their tents while the older guy named Dale took watch. The group apparently took hourly shifts with each other, mostly just watching the edge of the forest for walkers no doubt.

She watched as Glenn put out the fire and was the last go inside his tent. She waited an hour, when T-Dog took shift, to move. She propped her sleeping bag and her bow against the tree. She then quietly slid down and landed softly into the grass. She stayed hidden behind the shadow of the tree as she shouldered her katana and started quietly moving across camp. She kept her hood up and made her way towards the edge of the forest, running in the shadows until she made it behind the chicken coop. She skillfully climbed over the wired fence and made it to the back door. She carefully opened it up went inside, grabbing a small burlap sack lying on one of the empty perches. She began to carefully fill it up with eggs. Once she had 6 of them, she quietly exited the coop and went on to scrounge for more food.

She found more peaches in a tree near the farmhouse and a sack of apples by the horse stables. By the time she was done, she had about two hours to sleep before dawn would approach. By that time, she would have to find a good hiding spot until night fell again. Then, she could make her way back to the highway and get back on track to Fort Benning.

She made her way back up into the tree and watched the stars for a bit. They seemed so different now. Before the virus struck, she just saw them as little shiny dots in the sky. She never took time to truly look at them. She was so distracted with her laptop and her phone and her friends and the latest and greatest. Now that it was all gone, all she had were the stars, the sky, the trees, the water. All she had to entertain her was nature, and now that she got a good look at it, it was all really quite, well… _beautiful._

She continued to watch the stars until her eyes drooped shut and finally fell asleep.

 

" _Keiko, th_ _is isn't training_ ," Her father's voice reminded her. 

**Deep breath. One, two, three...**

Her sword slashed sideways. Her mother’s head rolled across the floor.

" _The threats you will be facing now are real_. _The dead have come back to life, and they will not hesitate to kill you._ _"  
_

**Exhale. Four…Five...Six…**

Her sister’s head flew backwards, hitting the floor and rolling to the back door. Blood splattered across the wood flooring. Her little body hit the ground with a thud.

__"Every single decision you make from now on will be life or death..."_  
_

**Inhale. Seven...Eight...Nine...**

Her grandparent’s bodies fell to the floor, landing in a pool of red.

__"If you’re going to survive in this world, you must remember to not be afraid. You must remember that fear is your own choice."_ _

The blade cut across her father’s neck, his head falling off and joining his wife and daughter’s.

_“ _ _You have the choice to run, the choice to panic, the choice to be afraid of whatever threatens you, or whatever lies ahead_ _.”___

She watched as the flames licked higher, engulfing their bodies and consuming her entire house.

 _"Remember: You are strong, you are capable, and you are going to survive this. Do not_ _to let this world, or anyone in it take you."_

_**You are going to fight, and you are going to win.** _

 

And then she opened her eyes.

She blinked a few times, screwing them shut and rubbing her eyelids. She reopened her eyes and looked around. The sun had risen higher than she had hoped. She stretched out her arms and let out a light huff through her nose, smiling internally at the scent of fresh air. It had been a long time since she smelled something other than blood or rotted flesh. She assembled her supplies and made her way down the tree once more. She landed on the ground with a soft thud, re-shouldering her weapons as she stood up straight. She turned around to move, but instantly froze when she saw something completely unexpected.

A small, dark-haired, and freckled boy stood there by the large green tent. His eyes were slightly wide and naturally he took a step back. He hovered slightly, eyeing Kei curiously and cocking his head. Kei took a step back and pressed her back against the tree. She didn’t know what to do. If she moved, he might scream and wake the others up.

“Wh...Who are you?” He asked, his voice quiet and surprisingly calm.

She didn’t answer him. She merely stared, watching his movements closely.

“You’re the one they’re looking for, aren’t you,” He spoke, stepping closer to her with great curiousity, “You’re the one with the wolves.”

Kei took a sharp breath through her nose when she heard someone exit the tent beside him.

“Carl?”

The girl's eyes widened, and she started backing away from the three when she saw Rick step out.

“Carl? Who’re you talking t-”

Their eyes locked, and Kei’s body froze again. Her mind started racing with a million and one thoughts. She saw Rick put Carl behind him and reach for his side arm. One thought finally came forward and became as clear as day: Run. 

She jerked into action and bolted for the woods. Rick let out a loud and sharp “Hey!!” running for her before stopping to call for everyone to wake up. She turned back only once to see the men all getting up and springing into action. Rick had already started running in her direction.

“ _Fuck._ ”

She made it into the woods. She ran past trees and leapt over thick roots that stuck out of the ground. She could hear Rick and his group’s feet hitting the leaves further behind her. Rick called out for her to stop. She ran as fast as her feet could take her and let out a shriek when she was only inches away from a short stop and a deep drop in the ground. She looked out past the edge. A creek was several feet below. If she jumped, her feet (if not her legs) would definitely break. She turned around and saw Shane and the others fast approaching. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a loud whistle.

“Watch yer back, fellas!” She heard Shane warn, “She callin’ back up!”

Kei held out her bow and docked an arrow swiftly, pointing the arrowhead right at Rick. The small group of men quickly came to a stop and pointed their weapons right at her.

“Easy now, easy,” Rick soothed with his hands out, “We just wanna talk. You have somethin’ of ours and we’d be mighty happy if you gave it back.”

She didn’t respond. She drew her arrow back further and eyed the tall man warily. Rick stared into the shadow cast by the woman’s hood, trying to make out a face of some kind through the dark.

“What’s your name?” He asked, trying to sound friendly and reasonable.

Again, she didn’t respond.

“Rick let’s just do her in now,” Shane whispered sharply, “Let’s just put a bullet in her and get this over with!”

“We don’t kill the living Shane,” He pressed, looking to Kei with a calm demeanor, “Listen, Stranger, I’m sure we can work out somethin’ like reasonable people.”

There was a certain softness to him. His eyes were light and soft with a conscience. They were the polar opposite of Shane’s. His were dark and hardened like hers. They glinted with a dark alternative. He wanted her dead; right here, right now.

"Officer Rick Grimes," Rick spoke, his voice somewhat calming with a southern drawl, “Yours is?”

A long howl went off only a couple yards or so away. Glenn was the first one to look around in panic like the devil was in the trees.

“Dammit!” Shane hissed, suddenly pacing back and forth in a stressed out manner, “Rick, she called her little wolf pals to bail her out! We gotta do her in now before they come in and tear up the whole camp!” 

“Shane, I’m handling this,” Rick assured.

“Oh you handlin’ it? She just called a couple of wild animals in to kill us!” Shane barked.

“Shane! Let me reason with her, I’m handling it!” The leader barked back.

Kei just watched them both as they bickered like two children in the sandbox. She could tell that they did this often. It was rather interesting to watch.

“They’re gonna come Rick,” Shane warned, “They’re gonna come in and kill us, and your wife, and Carl, and--”

“Jesus Christ, can we please focus on gettin’ back our shit?!” Daryl called,

“You call off your buddies,” Shane hissed to the girl, cocking his gun and stepping closer, “You call ‘em off RIGHT NOW! YA HEAR?!”

“SHANE!” Rick yelled out. Glenn let out a noise as Ame rushed up to him and stood only two feet away, flaring his teeth, his piercing eyes wide and menacing like the devil. The men all backed away slightly, and jumped when Ren came up to the group’s other side. Daryl and Shane pointed their weapons at Ren while T-Dog and Glen kept them pointed at Ame. Rick kept his pointed at Kei.

“Listen, we don’t want any trouble,” He urged, his voice still surprisingly calm, “We just want our weapons and ammo back.”

Kei looked into the leader’s eyes. They were trusting, warm, and full of water from the bluest ocean. They reminded her of what her grandmother used to tell her about water--how it could wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.

She could tell he didn’t want to kill her. He didn’t want to kill anyone living. He was a good man. There was no point in trying to run for it. Shane would just shoot her on the spot, and this all would’ve been for nothing. She would lose some ammo for now, but she had some decent food, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Her arms started to twitch a little from holding the bowstring back for so long. She slowly started to lower her weapon. Rick started to lower his gun, and looked back at the others to make sure they were doing the same. They kept their eyes fixed on the wolves as they continued to growl and flare their teeth. They looked ready to pounce at any moment.

She let out a sigh and let her backpack fall to the ground. She opened it up quickly, tossing out the boxes of ammo and checking the guns to make sure their safeties were on. She tossed them to Rick’s feet and she closed up her bag, slinging it back over her shoulder. She looked to her two companions.

“ _Kakato_!”

The two wolves eyed the men viciously before slowly returning to her side. They had ceased their growling, but never kept their eyes off of Shane and his hand on the trigger. Rick cautiously reached down and picked up the weapons and ammo, handing them over to T-Dog. The leader’s eyes continued to stay fixed on the hooded figure in front of him.

“Thank you stranger,” He soothed, “That’s all we wanted.”

“ _Ikimashou_ ,” She spoke to her companions, turning to walk along edge and follow the creek. Ren and Ame slowly turned and followed closely beside her.

“Whoa, whoa hold on now!” Shane yelled, holding up his gun and pointing it towards Kei’s back.

“Shane!” Rick called.

 “It’s a bad idea Rick, we can‘t just let her go like that,” He jeered, “She knows where we live, man! She’s gonna come back and get us in our sleep.”

 "Shane, she’s not gonna do that,” Rick spoke harshly.

“And how do you know, huh?!” Shane snapped, his eyes fixed on Kei‘s back, “Why was she back here?! Why did she follow us to the farm, huh?!”

“Shane just calm down man—”

“Shut the hell up T,” Shane hissed, “Hey! Robin Hood! You come back here!”

Kei rolled her eyes and kept walking. What a lame nickname. She could hear the gun cocking and Rick telling his best friend to stop.

“Shane! Put the gun down! She gave us the ammo back!” He yelled,

“I’m not lettin’ her leave, you said yourself that she was a threat!” Shane screamed.

“She ain’t doin’ nothin’ now!” Daryl yelled.

“Girl if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll stop RIGHT NOW!” Shane barked.

“ _Jikko,_ ” Kei whispered, bolting to her right and rushing out towards the farm.

 

Lori screamed bloody murder and grabbed Carl close as two large wolves rushed by their feet. They darted around the campers and ran alongside Kei as she bolted past. The three of them ran down the open field for dear life. She was several feet from the camp now, running through the amber fields as hard as she could. Her lungs were starting to hurt, but she could see the wood fence just up ahead. She was almost in the clear. All she had to do was jump it, and then she would be free to roam the forest. She could hear the men yelling wildly behind her and then suddenly a gunshot rang off. A sharp pain pierced her lower leg and she toppled over onto the ground.  She let out a scream and cradled her leg as pain began coursing through her. Ren and Ame stopped instantly and turned back, rushing up to her side and growling viciously at the men approaching.

“ _Teishi shinaide_!” She cried out to her companions, waving her hand towards the forest. “Go! _Teishi shinaide_!”

Ren and Ame barked at the group of men before quickly springing off towards the woods. Kei held her wounded leg closely and let out a strained cry. Blood began staining the grass. It covered her hands. Her leg was burning. Sound began to blend together. She could hear Rick’s muffled voice yelling something she couldn’t make out. Her back hit the grass. She looked up at the morning sky, her view suddenly being blocked by a ring of heads looking down at her. One of them was Rick’s as he got down on one knee to look at her. His lips moved, but no sound was coming out. Her eyes only shut for a minute, but after that it became impossible for her to open them again.

_“I can’t believe you did that,”_

_“She was running for the camp man. She was gonna hurt the others!”_

_“She ran_ past _the others, she gave back what she stole!” Rick barked._

_“Keep your voices down,” A woman’s voice hissed._

_“Not everything,” Daryl‘s voice echoed, “Bag’s full’a food: Apples, eggs, peaches, even the peanut butter and crackers.”_

_“She was hungry,” Another woman’s voice chirped, her tone sympathetic._

_“We’re all hungry, doesn’t give her a right to sneak in here and steal,” Shane seethed._

_“Doesn’t give you a right to try and put a bullet in her brain either,” Rick replied._

_“So what do we do with her?”_

_“Luckily the bullet didn’t do any severe damage to the calf,” A southern man significantly older explained, “It cut deep, but the leg should heal a lot quicker than it would had Shane really hit the muscle.”_

_“We’ll give her a pack and send her on her way then,” Rick stated._

_“You can’t be serious,” Shane argued, “She’s seen the farm man, what makes you so sure she won’t come back?”_

_“Then we blindfold her and drive her out somewhere,” Rick offered._

_“Look let’s not discuss this now, not in front of her at least,” Another woman chimed in._

_“What she care?” Shane scoffed, “She’s passed out anyhow.”_

_“Let’s just discuss this downstairs, okay? She needs her rest…”_


	3. Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What, we good ‘nough to steal from, but not good ‘nough to talk to?”

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=61179332) opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Clean, no cracks, no water stains. This house was being lived in and kept up nicely. She furrowed. She could hear the faint clanking of silverware and dishes from below the floor. She felt the bed she was on. The mattress was soft, and she was resting on down feather pillows and a warm quilted blanket. She sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed, a sharp pain shooting up her right leg. She attempted stand up on the hard floor. Her leg ached, but she could move it without it being excruciating. She limped over to the door and opened it, stepping out and taking in her surroundings. A long hallway, wood floors, fancy plates and family photos hanging up on either side of the wall. A crucifix hung just above the window ahead of her. A family... strong religious beliefs…tight knit? Possibly.

She limped her way down the steps and heard a mass of voices instantly hush. She looked down into the living room. Rick’s group and a few others were looking at her curiously like an animal at the zoo. Their eyes scanned her up and down while Rick came up to her with a light smile.

“Finally see ya without that mysterious hood of yours,” He replied happily, “You feelin’ alright?”

She nodded lightly. He nodded back as well, turning back to look at the group.

“Everyone, this is…” He turned back to her, looking for a name. She chewed on her lip a little, her dark eyes darting to the floor without a word. Rick stared at her with slight sympathy before placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Well, good to see you awake. I bet yer hungry.”

She nodded lightly, immediately glaring at Shane after hearing a scoff leave his mouth. Rick’s wife Lori came up to her and introduced herself before escorting her to the kitchen. She had a plate of chicken and vegetables waiting for her at the table. Her dark eyes widened slightly. Food that was cooked and warm, she almost wanted to cry. She tried her hardest to look civil as she ate, but after months of feeding on squirrel and rabbit and old jerky, she failed horribly. She wolfed down the food, shoving the rice and vegetables in her mouth within minutes and choking slightly on the chicken. Lori patted her back lightly.

“Easy now, easy,” She chuckled, "Smaller bites. Plenty more where that came from.”

Kei wiped her mouth slightly and guzzled down the glass of water beside her. She let out a sharp sigh and wiped her mouth once more. She looked over at Lori across from her and noticed her observant expression.

“Better?”

She nodded, watching closely as the doe-eyed brunette brushed some hair behind her ear.

“Mind tellin’ me what you were doin’ here in the first place?"

She didn’t answer. She just picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. Lori rubbed the back of her neck and kept her eyes fixed on the table.

“Could’ve asked for a bite at the highway,” She replied with a light smile, “Nothin’ wrong with askin’, ’sa hell of a lot easier than stealin’. A lot more civil as well.”

Kei’s eyes fell to her plate, focusing on the vegetables and rice.

“Your friends gave us all quite a scare, darting through camp like that,” Lori mentioned.

Still not a word in response.

“You headin’ somewhere?” She asked, looking at Kei in hope for an answer. The dark haired girl just stared down at her meal. She could at least give her one answer. They were being pretty hospitable after all that she did.

“…Fort Benning.” She answered quietly.

Lori perked up a little and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Fort Benning,” She quoted. Kei nodded lightly and scooped up a spoonful of rice, shoving it into her mouth.

“Lori,” A voice chirped out. A woman with short hair quietly stepped in and poked her head out through the doorway, “Rick wants to speak with you.”

The soft spoken woman’s eyes looked over to Kei before going back to the Leader’s wife. Lori nodded to her lightly and then looked to Kei with a smile.

“Go on and finish up,” She urged, “I’ll be back later, give you a tour of the house.”

Kei nodded lightly and continued to scrape away at her plate. She chewed quietly and slowly as she closed her eyes, listening closely to the conversation going on in the other room.

“ _She didn‘t say much,_ ” Lori explained, “ _Just that she’s headin’ over to Fort Benning.”_

She heard Shane scoff.

 _“Fort Benning,”_ He groused _, “Course she’s headin’ there. Guessin’ she wants to tag along for the ride, too.”_

 _“Well she’s goin’ the same way, why not ask her to?”_ Lori asked.

 _“Did y’all forget what she just did?”_ Shane retorted, _“Stole our weapons, sicked her little meat eating pets on the camp, stole our foo—”_

 _“Nobody at the camp got hurt,”_ Rick reasoned, _“And she gave back everything she stole. She’s fast, quiet…”_

 _“You can’t be serious,”_ Shane spoke.

 _“Well why not?”_ Rick asked, his tone slightly challenging.

_“Because she’s a threat! You said it yourself last night, she’s a threat!”_

_“She seems nice enough to me,”_ Lori retorted.

 _“We can’t trust her,”_ Shane argued, _“We can’t—She’s just another mouth to feed. We can’t ration anymore.”_

 _“Well why don’t we ask her what she wants to do?”_ She heard an older man suggest.

 _“What she wants,”_ Shane scoffed again, _“What she wants, Dale? What she wants is probably to kill us all off and take our stuff.”_

Shane was getting desperate at this point. She could sense it in his tone of voice. He really wanted her gone, and she was more than happy to meet his wishes. She opened her eyes and ate the last piece of chicken on her plate. She then slowly slid out of her seat and limped on over to the living room. Everyone was still sitting in their seats while Shane and Rick stood in the center of the room. All of them turned to look at her as she leaned against the doorway. They all waited on her for a breif second to say something, but instead she just looked away and limped over to the stairs. Lori was the first one to get up and help her. The girl listened as they continued to talk about her while she headed up the steps.

“Well she sure is a ray of sunshine,” She heard a woman scoff.

“Well Shane did almost blow her leg off,” Dale spoke.

“Which is another thing we need to discuss,” The old southern man spoke, “I thought I was clear on using guns on my property…” 

“You don’t wanna listen to all that,” Lori assured softly, “Come on now."

She helped Kei cross the hall and enter her room, setting her gently on the bed. The brunette brushed some hair behind her ear and took a seat next to her, sighing contently and folding her hands together.

“You think you’d wanna stay with us? A-At least until your leg heals up?”

Kei twisted her lips to the side a bit, looking to the floor without a word.

“I think you’d be alright,” She replied honestly, “Well, Shane might give you a bit of grief, Daryl too, but he’s not so bad.”

Kei looked down at her bandaged leg for a bit, before looking out towards the window. She peered at the edge of the forest, Ren and Ame crossing her mind instantly.

“No one‘ll hurt you here,” Lori promised, “But we don’t want your friends out in the woods hurtin’ anyone here either. No humans, no farm animals.”

Kei turned to the brunette and nodded lightly. Of course Ren and Ame wouldn’t hurt them, not unless they attempted to hurt her first.

“You just go on and think ‘bout it,” Lori reasoned, patting her shoulder once more before getting up. She told Kei to get some rest and that she’ll come up to check on her later. The young girl nodded and snuggled into her bed. It had been so long since she had something so soft and normal to sleep on. For once, she managed to get some sleep. For once, the night terrors stopped attacking her thoughts.

* * *

 

“I say we take her out,” Shane spoke out firmly, “We outta take her out deep in the woods somewhere and nip it in the bud.”

Rick paced around the floor and looked to the old farmer sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

“Hershel?” He asked, looking to him for what he had to say.

“I don’t want those wolves anywhere near my animals,” He commanded, “There’s no tellin’ how many chickens I’ll lose if we have them runnin’ around.”

“They seemed well trained,” Rick mentioned, “She spoke to them and obeyed her every command.”

“Dogs don’ listen all the time, Rick,” Shane argued, “They been huntin’ rabbit an’ squirrel most of the time. We let them run ‘round here, it’ll be like ringin’ the damn dinner bell for a free meal.”

Rick ran a hand through his sweaty hair and shook his head. She seemed like a good addition to their group. She was smart, cautious, and a good hunter by what Daryl had said a couple nights ago. Winter would come soon, and food would be scarce.  They could use all the help with hunting they could get at this point.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it was quickly cut off by the front door swinging open and Beth running through.

“Daddy come quick!” She yelped, her blue eyes wide with panic, “Nellie threw Jimmy off of her! She’s escaping!”

Hershel and the others quickly followed the little blonde and rushed out on the porch, watching as Nervous Nellie whinnied loudly and ran across. She heading out to the fields and making her way straight for the forest. Just then, two blurred figures darted across the field, running after the horse. They bounded up and down and Rick caught sight of them heading towards the panicked animal. The minute he saw their long bushy tails and their pointed ears, his eyes widened in sudden realization. Shane was the first to acknowledge it out loud and let out a frustrated growl.

“It’s those damn wolves!”

“They’re gonna kill the horse!” Patricia let out beside him.

“Not if I can help it!” Hershel growled, rushing out with his shot gun at hand. He stepped out onto the ground and cocked his gun, pointing it at the blurred figures rushing towards his late wife's horse. Rick watched closely as the two wolves chased the animal around and noticed that something was off. His eyebrows furrowed together, and suddenly he realized what was happening.

“Hershel!” He exclaimed, “Wait! Hershel!” He rushed down the steps and grabbed the farmer’s arm. He held him back, pointing at the two creatures and urging him to really look. They weren’t biting at Nellie’s legs or trying to claw at her throat. They were simply running around her, attempting to make her turn back.

“They’re…wait a minute, are they…wrangling her?” Glenn asked, looking out at the scene in disbelief.

Ren barked loudly and darted circles around Nellie, causing the horse to rear and whinny in panic. She turned around sharply and started making her way back towards the farm. The two wolves darted beside her on either side, guiding her towards the stables. Just as she made it past the house, Hershel, Jimmy, and Maggie quickly rushed out to stop her and calm her down. While they did so, the wolves stopped near the house and looked to the group on the porch. All of them stared at the creatures in disbelief. Rick stared at the two of them in awe. Still amazed by what he had just seen, he almost missed Carl stepping out towards the dogs to get a closer look. He quickly took hold of the young boy’s arm and held him back.

“Stay back, Carl,” He warned.

“But I wanna see,”

“Carl, you stay back,” Lori warned.

Ame was the first to make a move. The grey wolf trotted closer to the porch, and the group instantly took a step back. The large animal made it up to the steps when everyone except Rick piled back over by the porch swing. The officer swallowed deeply as he knelt down a little, looking directly into Ame’s large golden eyes.  Neither of them moved. He chewed on his lower lip a little in caution, slowly holding out his hand to the wolf. Ame looked down at it, cocking his head and pressing his wet nose to his palm. He sniffed it a couple times before huffing out and suddenly leaning forward. Lori let out a small yelp as the dog nearly knocked the man over and started licking his face. Rick’s face twisted at the smell of its breath, but started laughing at the feel of its tongue tickling the skin of his whiskery cheek. He ran a hand through Ame’s thick fur, saying “good boy,” over and over. Ren quickly rushed up to join, but instead went for the frightened group on the porch. She leapt for Andrea, but the blonde panicked and ran behind T-Dog, leaving him to take the dog jumping up on it’s hind legs and placing her paws on his stomach. Ren wagged her tail happily and jumped up, attempting to lick his face.

“Down! Down dog! Sit!” The man exclaimed, leaning back to avoid her wet nose and tongue, “How the hell does she control these things!”

“ _Suwatte!_ ” A voice called from the porch. Ren immediately ceased jumping and sat down at attention. Ame got off of Rick and mimicked the same actions. The young officer wiped his face and turned around. Kei was standing behind the screen door, looking firmly at her two companions. Hershel, Maggie, and Jimmy rushed back to the porch, wiping their sweaty foreheads and panting.

“Got her back in her stable,” Hershel announced, “No bites or scratches. How on earth did ya teach them to wrangle a horse like that?”

Kei didn’t answer. She just stared at him quizzically.

“Nellie just escaped,” The old farmer explained as he pointed to the wolves, “And those two just darted out of the woods and started chasing the horse back to the stables.”

She stared at the two wolves with raised eyebrows.  Ren and Ame stood up and wagged their tails rapidly in satisfaction. She smiled at them both and looked to the woods.

“ _Modotte mori e. Iku!_ ”  
(back to the forest. go!)

Ren snapped into action and leapt over the porch railing. Ame darted back down the stairs and the two made their way back towards the woods.

“Whoa whoa whoa, where they going?!” Daryl asked out.

“She sent them back,” Lori answered, watching the wolves before turning around to watch Kei limp back inside. Rick and the others quickly followed suit, following her into the house and over to the living room.

“How’d you get them to obey you like that?” Andrea asked, going to the window to watch them disappear into the forest.

“And what’s that language you speak,” Rick asked, “When you command them to do something?”

“Japanese,” Glenn answered.

“You know what she‘s sayin’?” Daryl asked. Glenn shook his head no and stepped back when Shane brushed past him.

“Well that’s a neat little party trick and all, but let’s not forget they’re carnivores,” The man warned, “They’ll tear your throat out first chance they get.”

“Well, I don’t know about that Shane,” Rick replied with a half smile, “I mean, my throat’s still here, and so is T-Dog’s, and Nellie’s.”

He turned to look at Kei, his expression warm with growing trust. He was really impressed with her right now.

“What else can they do?” He asked.

“Look they can hop, skip, hell they can fetch a pail of water for all I care,” Shane spoke, “But we’re talking about animals here, aggressive animals. Even if they’re naturally sweet and cute and cuddly, they’re still wolves. They still have animal instincts, and they could lash out at any moment.”

“Well they seem aight to me,” T-Dog spoke as he wiped his dirty shirt, “Bit hyper, but smart.”

“Really smart,” Rick replied, “They could help with the hunting.”

“Can they stay on the farm?” Carl asked, excitement apparent in his voice. Rick shrugged his shoulders and turned to the old farmer sitting on the couch by the window.

“Hershel?”

The old man looked to Kei by the fireplace, his sad eyes looking right into her own. She could see he had quite a past etched on his expression; loss, drunkenness, pain. So many demons and burdens, but his faith and the deep love for his family kept him going each day.

“They better be at your side at all times,” He warned, “If I find any of my animals hurt or worse, I’ll have to ask you and your dogs to leave.”

Kei nodded lightly, agreeing to Hershel’s terms. The group’s meeting adjourned and everyone dispersed to head back out to camp. Kei limped her way out to the porch and whistled loudly. Carl stood at her side and watched as two grey blurs darted out of the woods and ran straight for her. Carl quickly hid behind Kei as they approached her, wagging their tails and bounding around in excitement. He poked his head out from behind her and slowly held out his hand. Ame came closer, sniffing his palm lightly and licking it. The young boy retracted his hand quickly and laughed.

“Ew!” He exclaimed with a grin. He stepped out further and reached out his hand. Ame nudged it lightly and snuggled his head under Carl’s palm, asking to be petted. He gently ran his hands through Ame’s fur and smiled. He always wanted a dog, ever since his best friend got a puppy for Christmas in 3rd grade. Boy, if his friend could see him now, petting a real live wolf.

 

Kei was invited to sit at the campfire with the rest of Rick’s group that night. A lot of what was talked about was what they did before the world ended. Andrea was a Civil Rights Lawyer, making good money and just starting to make a name for herself. Shane and Rick were local deputies, and they’ve been best friends since High School. Both Carol and Lori were stay-at-home mothers, and Dale was in retirement, living the simple life up until he lost his wife to cancer. He seemed to be more of a mentor now, to Andrea more than anyone. Kei noticed how close they were, regardless of she constantly bickered in annoyance about how Dale watched her every move like a hawk. When it came Glenn’s turn, he just sheepishly answered that he was just a pizza delivery boy, and didn’t really do much when he wasn't working. T-Dog was an office man, and was in the middle of transferring to Atlanta before all the panic set in. Daryl never said what he did, he just told them that he ran a business, and that it was called “none of yers”.

“So, what about you, Stranger?” Shane asked Kei, his tone snarky and challenging, “What’d you do before all this? Tame wild animals?"

She didn't answer him. She just glared and went back to looking down at her meal.

"Never even caught yer name, what is it anyway?”

“Shane,” Lori scolded.

“Nah, nah, we oughtta know as much as possible about our new potential group member,” He justified simply,“We’re uh, gonna be entrusting our _lives_ with her after all. So how ‘bout it, tell us what you did.”

She didn’t answer. She just scraped at her plate and continued to eat, looking down at Ren and Ame at her feet. Shane let out another scoff.

“What, we good ‘nough to steal from, but not good ‘nough to talk to?”

“Shane,” Rick warned.

“She’s a mute…” Glenn declared in sudden defense, “A-At least I think she is…anyway…”

“That true, Stranger?” Shane asked, putting her on the spot again, “You a mute?”

“If she is, are you really expecting an answer?” Andrea disputed.

“Well she yells out commands to her little buddies right there,” Shane justified, looking down at Ren and Ame, “Figure she knows a few more words.”

“Maybe she only speaks Japanese,” Dale defended, “Either way you shouldn’t be ganging up on her like this. She just woke up, she should be taking it easy.”

Kei looked to the old man in the fisherman’s cap. He smiled at her before focusing back on his meal. Everyone was quiet up until their meals were finished. They all started getting up and settling into their tents. Carl asked Rick if Ame could sleep in their tent. Lori was instantly against the idea of a wild animal sleeping in the same tent as them. Rick on the other hand, after watching Carl and Ame together, was leaning towards letting him. The gray wolf snuggled closely to Carl, licking and nuzzling his hand, encouraging the little boy to keep petting him. His son was happy, smiling and giggling lightly. He hugged Ame around his neck, rubbing his furry back saying “good boy” over and over. It had been a long time since he’d seen Carl this happy.

“Baby, I think we better let them sleep with their owner tonight,” Lori told the small boy, “I don’t want them goin’ to the bathroom all over our tent.”

Truth be told, she was more scared about Ame biting her kid’s face off in the night rather than going to the bathroom. Carl looked down at the ground with his mouth twisted to the side a little in disappointment. He gave Ame one last hug before wishing him and Kei goodnight. Kei looked up at the little boy and smiled back without a word.


	4. Safety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If I ever find that yer here to hurt mah crew, I’ll kill ya,"

After two days of bed rest, Hershel let [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=85655538&lid=1950767) try and move around a bit. She limped out of the house with her bow and arrows at hand, taking in the scent of morning air. She let out a sigh through her nose, rubbing her arms and neck in satisfaction. It had been a long time since she had a real bed to sleep in. It was nice, she could definitely get used to it.

She limped her way off the porch and stood at the bottom of the steps, looking out towards the camp where Rick's group was. She could hear voices raising, and saw Shane’s arms flailing around over by Carol‘s Cherokee. He was arguing with someone again, and chances were it was Rick.

“We can’t let her stay here,” Shane commanded.

“And why not,” Rick asked, clearly tired of this conversation.

“She stole our shit when we first met her, man,” Shane answered, “She didn’t ask or—or even _attempt_ to plead her case for some food. She just went up and stole. Then she sicks those mutts after us on the highway, and you practically welcome them in and let them sleep next to your own son.”

“They aren’t dangerous!” Rick objected.

“Will you listen to yourself?” Shane yelled, “Wolves, hunters, killers, aren’t dangerous. Dammit Rick what world you livin’ in right now, is it nice?! Care if we join in too?!”

“Shane!” Lori protested loudly, “Her pets aren’t as bad as they seem, I admit they’re a little intimidating, but they helped Hershel with the horses and they love Carl—”

“Oh so they chase horses around and make yer son happy for a lil bit,” He snapped back, “Well shit, why not just make those three the leaders then?!”

Lori jerked her head back a little in surprise. She watched as the man ran a hand across his shaved head anxiously.

“Safety,” He continued, “That’s all we need.”

“And that’s what we have,” Rick noted urgently, “And we could have even more if we include her and the wolves into our group.”

“Nah,” Shane spoke lowly, “Nah we’ll be dead. You don’t even know how good she is. You saw her run around Rick, that‘s all any of us have seen."

“She shot that deer square in the neck,” Daryl mentioned plainly while inspecting one of his bolts, “Gotta be a decent shot with a bow to hit the jugular from a distance.”

Shane let out a hearty scoff and shook his head at him.

“Luck, man. She just another ass to cover.”

Kei flinched a little and watched as Shane bickered on about her “questionable” skills. Rick continued to talk in her defense, bringing up points about her having to be good in order for her to survive this long on her own. Shane continued to shake his head and say that she was just going to get them killed, or herself killed, and that she wasn’t good enough.

The girl shook her head with an agitated sigh and held out her bow. She prepared an arrow and drew it back, pointing it around to look for a small yet easy target.

Well, easy for her, anyway.

Glenn had left an apple on the hood of Carol’s Cherokee. Behind that (only a couple feet away) was a tree. Perfect.

She drew back her arrow further and let go, watching it zip forward and pierce the apple’s side. The arrow carried it across the hood and hit the tree within seconds. Rick and Shane instantly stopped bickering. Glenn and Daryl’s heads perked up, and Carol’s hand was to her chest in shock. They all looked at the apple pinned to the tree, and then turned to look in Kei‘s direction. She merely looked to Shane and leaned forward, taking a small bow before turning around.

Everyone just stood there and watched as she limped back inside the house. Rick had his eyebrows raised in surprise before looking to Shane in amusement. The man just shook his head immediately, turning around to limp away towards the camp fire. Daryl stepped up to the tree and pulled out the arrow, staring at the apple closely. He smirked, turning around to show Kei’s good work to Rick.

“Seems like she can hold her own to me,” 

 

Noon time rolled around. Rick and a few others went out to the highway to look for the missing girl again. This time Ren went along as well. Rick figured they could get a lot farther with Daryl’s tracking and a wolf’s sense of smell and hearing. Kei stayed behind and watched from the roof of the RV as Carl and Ame played fetch.

“I for one don’t think you’re a threat,” Dale mentioned suddenly, “Some of the others have their doubts, but I can see it. You’re a good person, just trying to get by like the rest of us.”

She smiled lightly and took a small sip of water, watching as Carl tossed a stick towards the field. Ame darted off after it as quick as lightning.

“What _is_ your name, anyway?” She heard the old man ask, “I figure it’s a lot better than ‘stranger’.”

“Kei,” She peeped, watching as Carl threw a ball and Ame rushed to go fetch it.

“K…” Dale chuckled lightly, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Kei,” She repeated slightly louder.

“Kei,” He repeated, earning a nod from the girl, “A nice name.”

She smiled lightly and returned to looking out at the fields. She sighed at the sight. It had been a while since she’d been somewhere so open with such a big sky.

“Do you have family out here, Kei?” She heard him ask suddenly, “Do you have family anywhere?”

She shook her head no.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” He replied honestly, “Andrea lost family too recently. We all have.”

She looked up to him, her eyes big and curious, as if asking him the same question. He caught on and looked out towards the fields.

“I had a wife,” He mentioned with a sigh, “As fate would have it, she didn’t live to see the world end. She left early, lost the battle to cancer. Well, I wouldn’t say lost. She put up a damn good fight, but it was her time, and she accepted that.” 

Kei’s dark eyes traveled to the floor for a moment.

“I couldn’t at the time,” He sighed, “It took a while, but I finally did. I had to after all, so much was going on.”

Dale felt a hand gently place itself on his knee cap in comfort. He looked down at Kei and smiled. She smiled back, the both of them turning back to watch the fields roll with the clouds in the wind.

 

Ren darted around the trees and made her way over to the creek. She leapt down and landed in the creek bed, her nose sniffing against the rocks and dirt. Daryl leapt down as well, observing the ground closely before looking ahead down the creek.

“This mutt ain’t half bad,” He spoke with a smirk, “Got some prints here.”

“Are they Sophia’s?” Andrea asked, leaping down and landing next to the hunter. Daryl looked down at the dirt closely, squinting a little at the faded shoe print in the mud between two rocks.

“Small enough,” He mentioned. Rick and Shane leapt down as well, watching as the Red Wolf weaved around the creek and continued to sniff.

“Why on earth would she be down here?” Andrea asked, looking around curiously.

“Most recognizable landmark in the woods, why not?” Shane asked back. 

Ren perked up suddenly and turned to look down the creek. She let out a huff before letting out a sharp growl and darting up ahead. Daryl Rick quickly rushed after her, Andrea and Shane following suit. They ran several feet down before pausing suddenly. Only a few feet ahead was a walker, and Ren growled at it viciously. The rotted corpse turned and looked at the group with its milky white eyes. The walker was a woman, with thin and dirty clumps of hair on its skull and one arm missing. Daryl held up his crossbow and started to get closer. Ren rushed up ahead and darted over to the Walker’s side, growling viciously and baring her teeth. The Walker turned its head with a loud crack and started stumbling its way to the ball of fur and meat. Its task was quickly cut short by an arrow coming on fast and piercing it right in the skull. The body flung to the side and landed with a thud. Ren immediately wagged her tail in satisfaction and ran up to Rick’s side. He let out a “good girl” in gratitude and looked to Daryl. The man nodded and kept his eyes glued to the dirt floor, moving onward and following the light trail of tracks.

 

“Well, she’s certainly…different,” T-Dog mentioned, watching Kei from the RV as she limped over to the field, “A bit intimidatin’ with that whole Last Samurai thing she got goin’ on...”

“Yeah well she’s in a lot of pain,” Dale justified, “She’s been through a lot. We all have.”

The old man watched the girl in the field as she carefully sat herself down in the grass. She gently rubbed her bandaged leg and stared out at the scenery for a moment, seeming to get lost in her thoughts. She sat out there for a while, just looking out at the forest, occasionally ripping up small chunks of long grass and dirt on either side of her. She didn’t say a word, she didn’t express any sort of emotion-she just sat there, looking at the edge of the empty forest.

Dale and T-Dog watched as she stood back up and started to limp her way back to camp. Carl and Ame came darting out from his tent, the young boy laughing and yelling for Ame to catch up. The two of them ran towards the girl and stopped in front of her, excitement practically radiating from their bodies. Carl spoke frantically to her about something that the two men on the RV couldn’t hear. The girl just smiled and nodded her head, continuing on towards the camp.

Once the three made it back, Rick and the rest of the search team had come back as well. The police sheriff nodded to Kei and smiled as Carl and Ame ran up to him. Both of them seemed equally excited, Carl hugging his dad tightly and Ame darting circles around them. Kei smiled at the scene before walking onward, only to be stopped by someone saying, “Hey, Mutey!” behind her. She stopped and turned. Daryl stalked up to her, their significant difference in height revealing itself. Kei looked up at him expectantly, watching as his stormy eyes roamed over her.

“Yer mutt did good today,” He admitted lowly, “But I still don’t trust ya.”

Kei chewed on the inside of her lip a little. She could tell where this was going.

“Now you listen to me good," he said, his voice dark, "I don't care if you stay here or not, but you understand one thing."

He leaned forward, and Kei found herself stepping back.

"If I ever find that yer here to hurt mah crew, I’ll kill ya," He muttered, “I don’t need you here tryin’a fuck up things. These guys’ve been through ‘nough…”

She furrowed at him. A compliment and a threat? She hadn‘t had that in awhile. She nodded lightly and let out a loud and short whistle. Ren and Ame sprung over to her side happily, wagging their tails as they followed her back over to the camp fire.

Carol handed the girl a plate of eggs with a couple peach slices. The girl looked at her closely. It looked like her mind was away from the world. Her eyes were glassy and pink. She had been crying. The woman quickly turned away and went on to serve lunch to Daryl and the others, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Rick went on to announce their plan to search for Sophia in a couple hours. Kei nibbled on a piece of peach slice quietly as her name was mentioned, but her assignment was to stay behind and try to rest a bit.

“Hershel doesn’t want you to put too much stress on your leg right now,” He informed, “After a couple more days, you should be fit to go to the highway with Dale and the others.

The young girl nodded, her eyes glancing over at Carol as she took a seat next to Dale. The thin woman looked up from her plate and gave the girl a weak smile, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Kei watched her from time to time with great curiosity. When the thin woman with short hair thought nobody was looking, she would put a hand to her mouth and quietly cry for a minute or so. After wiping her eyes and collecting herself, she’d go back to whatever chore she was doing and that would be it. Kei couldn’t imagine what she was going through, to lose her little girl like that, not knowing if she was even alive. Kei felt like she was lucky to never have had to experience that.

Still, her experience was bad, but she could understand Carol’s pain. Losing a loved one was never easy. From what Lori had told her during laundry, she had no husband, and now no daughter.

_“Although, he was just awful,” She mentioned as they scrubbed the clothes in the creek, “He’d hit her, sometimes openly right in front of us. We’d always try to stop it but…”_

_She fell silent and shook her head. Kei wrung the sopping wet t-shirt in her hands._

_“God knows what he did to her before any of this started,” She went on, “And I can only fathom about poor Sophia. After Ed got attacked by that herd in camp, I could see it on Carol‘s face, that small sense of freedom. She still mourned during the burial of course, but we all could see it. It was on our faces too. One less asshole to deal with in the world.”_

_Kei dipped the shirt in water before wringing it out again. She thought about her own experiences with her old boyfriend. He was a hot head at times, and occasionally would break something after a heated argument about things that now seem so petty. He had never physically hit her before. He never had the chance. Her friends Sen, Alex, and Daisuke came in like knights in shining armor and made it clear that they wouldn’t let him hurt her, ever. It was after that they broke up, and the last time she saw him was only a week before all hell broke loose._

_It was only for a second, but she was walking down the street when she saw him coming from the opposite direction. He had a new girl latched to his arm: a fairly tall brunette with highlights in her hair. He had made eye contact with her for only a second before breaking away, the both of them denying each other’s existence. Now that the world had ended however, she wondered if he was still even alive, and if he was acknowledging her existence now._

“Kei,” 

She blinked. Rick’s big blue eyes were staring right at her big dark browns. He was kneeling in front of her, staring at her curiously with one knee in the dirt.

“Y’alright?” He asked, “You zoned out there for a minute.”

She nodded quickly, wiping her forehead before looking back down at her plate. She wasn’t used to someone being this close to her, let alone a man.

The corner of Rick’s mouth twitched upwards before he got up and patted her shoulder.

“You’ll get your shot to help out,” He mentioned in comfort, “Right now I need you to stay put, alright? Help Lori and Maggie with whatever they need.”

The dark haired girl nodded her head, stuffing her mouth with only a single scoop of eggs before setting the plate down. She looked down and watched as Ren and Ame hurriedly fed on the rest. As the two wolves munched and licked away at the plate, she couldn’t help but feel like a pair of eyes were on her. She turned and looked to the right, noticing Daryl openly staring at her and what she just did. He wasn’t shy about it either. He didn't look away or even pretend he was looking at something else. He just eyed her for a good second before looking back down at his own meal, completely missing the girl making a confused frown at him.


	5. Reasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re alive, and you’re pretty. Two good reasons to smile every day.”

“Yer gonna need better clothes than those dirty ones ya got on,” Maggie assured as she raided her bedroom closet, “I don’t own anythin’ fancy, but I think you’ll look good anyway.”

The farmer’s daughter pulled out a set of clothes and helped Kei change into them. Once she was finished, Maggie looked her over and smiled lightly.

“You sure you ain’t a fashion model?” She asked with a playful tone, “You look like those girl you see in all those high end magazines. You need a bit more meat on your bones, hon.”

Kei smiled sheepishly and looked to the floor. She was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. It wasn’t like she was wearing an expensive ball gown or something. Still, Maggie gushed about how pretty she was and how nice her smile was. To be honest, it made her feel really good.

“See? You ain’t gotta look so sad or angry all the time,” The brunette chirped with a toothy smile, “You’re alive, and you’re pretty. Two good reasons to smile every day.”

Kei let out a small laugh, shaking her head as Maggie giggled and patted her shoulder.

“I gotta make a run into town today with Glenn,” She mentioned, “Beth’ll still be here to help if you have anymore pain today.”

Kei cocked her head a little, her expression telling her to explain further.

“We’re runnin’ low on antibiotics and bandages,” She informed, “With everyone here gettin’ hurt left and right, we’re gonna need double of what we usually get.”

The image of her H3 Hummer instantly flashed across her mind. She had enough medical supplies in the trunk to serve a small army for weeks. She could bring the car back to the farm, and she could split half the medical supplies with Hershel and the group. That would definitely get Hershel to trust her, and perhaps even put Shane’s little paranoid beef with her at ease. Brilliant.

She had to get back to the highway.

Kei shook her head no rapidly. Maggie’s eyebrows furrowed together.

“You don’t wanna come?”

She shook her head again. She reached for Maggie’s hand and led her downstairs into the kitchen. She found Andrea sitting on the counter with the map in her hands, reading over the grids that Rick had marked.

“Whoa!” The blonde let out, jumping lightly as Kei swiped the map out of her hands. She placed the map down on the kitchen table and spread it out, looking it over as Maggie and Andrea rushed to her side.

“Kei,” Maggie spoke, looking to the girl intently, “Kei what is it?”

Kei’s dark eyes roamed over the map. She pointed directly at the highway and circled it.

“The highway?” Andrea asked, arching one eyebrow upwards.

“What’s at the highway?” Maggie asked.

Kei pointed down at the gauze wrapped around the area under her right knee.

“Gauze?” Andrea guessed.

“Medical supplies,” Maggie corrected. She looked down at the map before looking back at the dark haired girl.

“You know where some medical supplies are?”

Kei scribbled down on the side of the map.

It’s in my car.  
A few feet away from where you parked your RV.

“Your car…” Maggie spoke, “You got anythin’ else? Antibiotics? Bandages?”

Kei nodded her head, holding out her arms to indicate she had a huge amount.

“You’d bring it back here? For us?” Andrea asked.

She nodded. Maggie and Andrea exchanged brief glances of surprise before they turned into warm smiles.

“I’ll see if T-Dog can take us in the truck,” Andrea informed, taking the map with as she left the house. Maggie looked to Kei before leaping for her and taking her into a tight hug,

“Thank you!” She chirped, “You have no idea what this’ll mean to my dad. You’re so kind!”

Kei gently placed her hands onto Maggie’s back. It had been a long time since she had human contact like this. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hugged by someone, someone who liked her. She wrapped her arms around Maggie’s waist and buried her face into her shoulder. She was warm, and she smelled nice. She missed this, human contact. She missed it a lot.

 

“You sure she got stuff out there?” Shane asked.

“She said she had a huge amount of medical supplies,” Andrea spoke, “And I don’t know about you, but this group gets banged up pretty bad, we could use it.”

“She said it, or did she just flail her arms around and you believed her,” Shane asked.

Andrea ignored his jeer and placed the map on the Cherokee‘s hood. She pointed to the spot where Kei had marked and then to the note she left on the side. The two officers looked the map over. Rick nodded in approval and looked to Shane.

“Sounds good to me,” Rick remarked.

“You serious,” Shane scoffed, “You know why she wants to go back to the highway? To escape. We fed her, patched her up, and now she wants out.”

“Shane, she’s been pulling her weight,” Andrea defended, “She’s helped with chores, and her two pets have been out there with Daryl tracking Sophia nonstop.”

“She’s done right by us, Shane,” Rick added, “And she’s doing even more, offering us a share of medical supplies like this. Hershel could definitely use ‘em.”

Shane removed his hat and shook his head.

“I think she’s gonna turn on us, man,” He said in a warning tone, “But alright, if you two are so sure about it, go right on ahead.”

“Thank you,” Rick spoke, turning to Andrea, “In two days, you and T-Dog take the truck up to the highway. Help Kei locate her car and lead her back.”

“Two days?”

“Hershel insisted that she not put too much pressure on her leg,” He explained.

Andrea nodded lightly and turned away to head back inside, but not before earning a menacing look from Shane.

 

Kei watched from the porch as Carol and Lori prepared lunch by the firepit. T-Dog and Dale had left earlier to one of the wells while Shane and Andrea were at a table cleaning their guns. Rick was over by Hershel at the side of the house, the two of them talking about something she couldn’t hear. She could see Hershel’s face though, and he was looking very insistent about something. Rick’s mouth moved quickly, his hand fidgeting with his hat in the process. She continued to watch, picking apart their movements and facial expressions to try and figure out what was going on. Her trance was quickly broken when T-Dog stepped onto the porch, huffing and puffing from the run he just clearly went on.

“Aye…you see Glenn anywhere?” He asked, his chest rising and falling as he took deep breaths, “We…We got a problem at the well.”

 

T-Dog and Kei went around camp to gather whoever they could. Dale had stayed behind at the well, still in disbelief at what he saw inside. They returned in short time with Shane, Lori, Glenn, Andrea, and Maggie, and they all crowded around the well. They stared in to see a bloated and grotesque looking Walker at the bottom, the disgusting thing staring up at them with lustful eyes as it clawed at the brick walls of the well. Kei watched in surprise as the creature gurgled and growled loudly, sloshing around the water.

"Looks like we got us a swimmer…" Dale chirped, pointing his flashlight down at the creature.

"How long do you think it’s been down there?" Glenn asked, still a bit shocked by its appearance.

"Long enough to grow gills," Andrea answered.

"We can't leave it down there. God knows what its doin to the water…" Lori said, still staring down at it. Shane propped one leg up on the well's edge and stared down at it.

"We gotta get it out," He confirmed.

"Easy… put a bullet in its head," T-Dog mentioned, "I'll get a rope."

He turned to walk back towards camp, but Maggie put her hand up.

"Whoa guys, no…"

"Why not? It's a good plan," Glenn offered. Andrea looked over at him and shook her head.

"It's a stupid plan. If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out definitely will."

Kei continued to stare down at the walker. Shane sighed and licked his lips,

"She's right we can't risk it."

"So… it has to come out alive." T-Dog said while looking over at Shane. The man nodded, a playful smirk suddenly appearing on his face.

"So to speak," He joked.

"How do we do that?" Glenn asked.

Everyone gave each other glances and each stared with equal confusion as they tried to figure out what they were going to do. Glenn had run back to camp and brought back a can of ham along with rope and some wire. Shane wrapped the meat in wire and tied it to the end of the rope, tossing it over and lowering it down the well. The large piece of ham hit the Walker in the face several times, but the creature merely whacked it away and continued to gurgle up towards the group.

Dale let out a sigh, nodding with his flashlight, "Yeah, he's not goin for it."

"Maybe cus a canned ham don't kick and scream when you're tryin to eat it…" T-Dog mentioned sarcastically.

"He's right," Lori replied, "There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards."

"We need live bait,"Andrea mentioned, her eyes turning towards the Asian boy next to her. Slowly, everyone turned and stared at young guy with smirks on their faces. Glenn instantly took notice and looked up, seeing all eyes on him. He screwed his eyes shut, muttering a small “dammit.” under his breath.

"Have I ever told you that I really like you're new haircut?” Glen coaxed to Shane, “You have a nice shaved head."

Lori walked over and handed him a flashlight. Kei handed him a rope to tie the Walker up with when he got the chance. Shane began to quickly fasten a harness of rope around him. He finished tying the knot and stepped back, patting a rather nervous Glenn on the shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, bud," He assured, "We gonna getcha outta there in one piece."

"Living piece," Glenn corrected, "The living part is important."

The young Asian boy slipped off his hat and handed it over to Kei. He then took hold of the rope, readying himself for the perilous task ahead. Kei walked over towards the pump and grabbed on to a piece of rope, standing in between Lori and Andrea. Shane grabbed the front and all hands were on deck,

"Nice and slow please!" The boy requested.

"You'll be alright Glenn." Lori reassured with a smile. He began to drop himself into the well. Maggie crossed her arms and started pacing, clearly uneasy about the situation.

"Oh, you people are crazy,"

Feeling Glenn's weight tug on the rope, the group slowly began to let the slack go,

"You want it out of your way, dontcha?" Shane asked, keeping his focus on the well.

"Kei, Maggie, Give us an eye there!" Dale spoke.

Kei let go of her share and walked over to Maggie. Together they walked over and stared over the side of the well. Slowly and steadily, Glenn was making his way down. Kei looked past the boy and peered further down, hearing the lustful growls of the Walker as the young man inched closer and closer. Maggie looked down, and then back up at the group,

"A little lower…" She instructed. The group steadily continued on, letting the slack of the rope slide through their fingers.

"Little more…"

Everyone watched the rope slide over the metal bar over the well. Kei quickly perked up and turned her head when she heard an unsettling creaking sound in front of her. Her eyes opened wide and she let out a loud "WAIT!" but it was cut short. The well pump suddenly broke off the wooden platform, the rope's slack went loose, and they lost control. A loud cry echoed through the well and the group became frantic. Shane dove after the pump and missed, but T-dog managed to recover it and clung to it with all his might.  
Kei latched onto the rope with Lori and the two tried to hold on for dear life. She clenched her teeth and pulled back, but the weight of the pump threatened to rip from T-Dog's grasp and send Glenn down to become Walker food. Kei jumped to her knees with the rope in her hand and grabbed onto the pump with T-Dog. The rest of the group followed and they all struggled to pull it up. Glenn's frantic cries for help made Kei's heart race a mile a minute. She couldn't tell if he was still alive and scared shitless, or currently being torn apart by that walker that was down there with him.

Slowly they pulled Glenn up. Kei and the others regained their footing and used whatever strength they had, making hasty progress as Glenn's frantic voice became clearer and clearer,

"Glenn!" Lori cried out.

"Come on pull him up, pull him up!" Shane shouted.

Kei saw Glenn's hands grab onto the metal bar above him. She and Shane ran up, each grabbing his arm and pulling him to safety. Kei collasped to her knees and Glenn sprawled out on the ground next to her. Everyone panted heavily from fear and adrenaline,

"Are you okay?!" Andrea asked frantically, putting a hand on his shoulder, Lori knelt down next to him and the rest crowded around, checking to make sure he was alright. Kei stood to her feet and stumbled slightly, the shock and relief of it all hitting her like a tidal wave.

"I guess its back to the drawing board…" Dale sighed with a shake of his head.

Glenn slowly got up to his feet, panting heavily with the rope in his hand in accomplishment,

"Says you," He breathed.

He handed the rope to Dale and walked off, leaving the old man to stare at it in confusion. He felt a hard tug on the rope and gripped it tightly as the Walker below thrashed around wildly like a fish on a hook. Everyone rushed over and stared down the well, seeing the bulbous creature tied up and ready to come out. Through all that chaos, Glenn had managed to get the rope tied around the Walker's body.

Shane took hold of the rope and began to yank at it. The others took position behind him and pulled back hard. It was a lot heavier than Glenn and the pump, so it took every ounce of energy that Kei and the others had. The rope barely moved and inch before they gave up quickly.

"This isn't going to work…" Lori sighed while rubbing her forehead. Everyone turned to Maggie as she frowned at the well.

"I know something that might…."

 

"Alright, lets try again!"

The group pulled again as Kei and Maggie tugged on the horses reins.

"Come on guys, keep pullin!" T-Dog shouted from the sidelines.

"Come on ya'll, almost there!" Shane yelled.

The grunts and pants from the everyone flooded the air as they struggled to pry the walker out.

"Come on ya'll, all together!" Shane shouted out. With one last heave, the Walker's body rose up from the darkness of the well and spilled over the stony edge. The massive creature hissed and grabbed at T-Dog. The man jumped back to avoid its bloated fingers. The creature gurgled and hissed as the rope tugged more and more at its bulbous torso.

"Almost there, keep it comin!" T-Dog yelled.

The group heaved with all the strength they had, but the Walker's body didn't budge.

"What's going on!?" Glenn shouted through clenched teeth.

"It's stuck!" Maggie called out.

As they continued to tug and pull, the walker began to cry out with exasperating gasping and growling, it's arms flailing every which way.

"Pull!"

The group gave one last heave and the rope suddenly went slack, sending Lori, Andrea, Shane, and Glenn crashing to the ground. Kei turned and looked over the see only half of the Walker clamoring on the surface. The sound of the other half splashing into the water echoed out from inside the well.  
The corpse's arms stretched out in attempt to grab and eat anyone who had gotten close. Kei walked over and stood next to Glenn as they watched it, the putrid stench of blood and molded guts filling their noses.

"We're gonna have to seal off this well…" Dale sighed, putting his hands on his hips in disappointment. Shane nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… that might be a good idea,"

"So what do we do about—"

Before Andrea could finish her sentence, T-Dog had grabbed the pump handle and started to beat the Walker‘s head in. Everyone except Maggie stood by and watched, already being used to such a brutal image. All of them flinched as the sound of bones cracking and blood spurting out rang in the air. T-Dog panted and looked back at Andrea,

"Good thing we didn't do anythin stupid like shoot it…"

The rest of them watched as he threw the handle to the ground and walked away.

 

Kei limped back to camp slowly behind the rest of the group. She was incredibly exhausted and her feet were starting to hurt as she had made her way back. The wound on her right leg began to ache a little as well. So much for Hershel’s orders.

Kei knew that she had to take it easy with the injury. Her mind told her to rest, but her heart told her to do what she could to help this group. And so, she decided to help out and try to hunt for some meat—either squirrel or rabbit, deer if she was lucky.

She grabbed her bow and quiver from her bag and prepared to set out, but as she stepped off the porch she noticed a familiar face and stopped.

Daryl had returned from the search, walking over to the Winnebago and opening the door. Before he disappeared, she noticed a beer bottle in his hand, a white flower sticking out at the top. She knew that Carol was in the Winnebago and noticed lately that Daryl was closest to her than anyone in the group. She could tell he felt for her and the situation she was in. When a young adult with an abusive past met another person that had encountered problems in which the other had experienced before, they tended to grow a close relationship with each other. Not in the romantic way, no, but in a sort of kindred way. They were drawn to each other like magnets. He must have gone through the same hellish experience. The hunter had felt sympathetic to the woman who had lost her husband, and now her little girl.

“ _So, that’s what he meant when he said that everyone had been through enough,_ ” She thought.

She looked to the dirft floor before looking forward and letting out a sharp whistle. She then limped off to the woods with Ren and Ame following suit.


	6. Chupacabra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Best wipe that look off your face, girl,” He called out as she walked away, “You’ll make enemies real fast ‘round here with that sour ass look a’ yers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to give a shoutout to the anon on tumblr who has been contacting me about this story and saying they love it. That made my day lol.  
> Oh yes! and to Ekhi and the 2 others who have left kudos on this story.  
> Thanks, sweeties!! xx

“Anybody seen that mute?” Daryl asked out towards the group sitting around the camp fire, “One of her dogs’ supposed to go with me to search.”

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. None of them had seen her, not since the incident at the well. 

“She’s not back in the house?” Lori asked.

“She was out on the porch last I saw,” Carol mentioned.

Dale was about to put in his two cents before Rick stood up and looked around.

“She’s probably with Maggie,”

“Maggie and Glenn left earlier to go get medical supplies,” Andrea announced.

Rick put his hands on his hips and dropped his head. He shook it lightly and looked to his right, furrowing at the sight of an empty dark blue lawn chair. Shane was missing too.

Kei took a deep breath through her nose, smiling at the scent of dry wood and leaves. She closed her eyes with a sight. Sunlight was glistening through the trees. The fall wind blew softly, which felt like a breath of fresh air. Gentle dewdrops like tiny crystal beads fell from the leaves onto her forehead. She smiled brightly. Raising her arms up and stretching in relief.

She traveled onward until she made it to the creek. Her pets leapt down onto the creek bed and started running about in the water. Kei slipped off her shoes and joined them, dipping her feet into the brisk and cold water. A shiver shot up her spine and goosebumps appeared on her arms. She let out an audible sigh of relief and merely walked around. It was so calm, so serene here. She began to hum to herself as the forest birds chirped vividly. She closed her eyes and smiled, fond memories coming back to her like a flood. She could see the stream now. Her sister ran along the bank with her straw hat and red pail. Her arms swayed around as she slowly turned in one fluid motion. She slowly lifted her foot above the water and set it back down.  Her parents waved at her from the shore, their picnic lunch laid out across the lush, green grass.

She continued to quietly sway and dance around to the song in her head, the smile never leaving her face as she raised her arms high and began to slowly spin around.

Her joy was cut short when she heard a bunch of leaves crackle from not too far away. She stopped and turned around sharply. Shane was sitting on the bank, his feet dangling just above the water. His shot gun rested lazily in his lap, and he had an amused look on his face.

“Don’t mind me, go on,”

Kei eyed him and then looked around. Ren and Ame had wandered further down the creek, the two of them nipping at each other and roughhousing in the water.

“Sorry to cut ya short,” He spoke out, “But ya shouldn’ be wanderin’ off like that, especially all by yourself.”

“ _I’m not by myself_ ,” She thought.

She didn’t respond. She just eyed him cautiously, slowly walking towards land.

“You dance beautifully, you know,” He mentioned, picking up his gun and standing up, “You should show Lori sometime. She likes that kind of stuff. What’s that, ballet?”

He held a hand out to her. She took it and let out a small yelp. She was fairly light, and he was really strong. She was practically yanked out of the water like a fish on a line. She stumbled a little as she landed on her feet, but regained her wary stare and went to grab her shoes and socks. A strong hand gently took hold of her arm and held her back briefly.

“Ey,” Shane said, “Listen, about earlier….I’m sorry, alright? I was outta line, I acted like a dick. You alright by me, and if Rick and the others like you, shoot, who the hell am I to argue.”

Kei looked into the man’s dark eyes and could see the serious behind them. He was being sincere about this. He was really apologizing.

“No more tryna crawl up your ass, alright? You’re part of the crew now,” He replied, “You…You earned your place.”

Kei continued to stare for only a few more seconds before letting out a sharp whistle. Ren and Ame rushed down the creek and leapt onto the bank. The two dogs stood in place and shook themselves dry before trotting up to her side.

“We good?” Shane asked out.

The dark haired girl stopped momentarily and turned, looking at him expressionlessly before nodding.

 

 

“The hell did you go?” Daryl snapped, catching Kei off guard as she arrived to camp. The hunter stepped up to her and eyed her up and down, his eyes landing on her bandaged leg. 

“You was supposed to be inside resting,” He added sharply, meeting her eyes again, “I need the red mutt to come with me for a bit.”

She eyed him briefly before looking down to the red wolf. She tutted twice and Ren trotted over to Daryl’s side. The dark haired girl then brushed past him, eyeing him coldly in the process.

“Best wipe that look off your face, girl,” He called out as she walked away, “You’ll make enemies real fast ‘round here with that sour ass look o’ yours.”

She ignored his little jeer and continued on towards her tent.

 

“Glenn, you mind giving this to Kei?” Carol asked with a plate of broccoli and chicken in her hands. Glenn wiped his mouth on his napkin and got up from his seat on the log. He took the dinner from Carol’s hands and went over to Kei’s tent by the largest oak tree. Her tent was placed near the camp, but a bit further away to give her some seclusion. It wasn’t like Daryl who camped out so far in god-knows-what-part of the farm.

  
He approached the outside of Kei’s tent and noticed the outside was flickering, ever so slightly. He furrowed and started to make his way around it. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=60911503) was sitting peacefully in the grass just outside her tent. Little candles were placed in front her, acting as her light source as she cleaned her sword. He watched curiously as she gently tapped a powder ball against the blade. She then gently placed the powder ball down and picked up a small piece of cloth. Her dark eyes flickering against the candlelight as she delicately slid the folded cloth upwards against the blade. Her eyes then went over to Glenn, and he immediately tensed up like a deer in headlights.

“S-Sorry,” He stammered, “Um..Here’s uh, here’s dinner.”

He awkwardly stepped up to her and placed the plate down at her side. She smiled lightly at him and continued to wipe the blade without a word.

“That’s a neat Katana you got there,” He mentioned sheepishly, “My grandpa was big into collecting weapons and stuff. He even let my dad keep a couple knives from his travels in China.”

She looked at the boy briefly before going back to cleaning her sword. Glenn shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted on one knee.

“It’s been in my family for a long time,” She admitted.

He looked over at the girl in surprise, blinking a few times in disbelief. Did he actually hear words come out of her mouth? He did. And she was waiting for him to respond.

“Y-Yeah? How long?” He asked, his tone cheerier from actually hearing her talk.

“400 years,” She answered simply.

“Nah uh,” He spoke with an airy laugh, “It looks brand new.”

She held up a small bottle of liquid with a light smile.

“Clove oil. It helps the blade last.”

He watched with great curiosity as Kei dripped the oil on both sides of the blade. She used the strip of cloth once more and delicately slid it alongside the blade. It was actually a really beautiful process. The way her hands moved when delicately she handled the blade, and the way the metal glistened against the candle’s light; it was almost like a dance.

The two of them went on to talk about other traditions in her family. Glenn was personally thrilled. He liked hearing her talk. Her voice was pretty, her tone light and yet strong. She had an accent which indicated she was foreign, but her English was clear and he could understand her perfectly well.

“Your voice sounds nice,” He mentioned, quickly laughing it off quietly afterwards, “And I mean that in the least creepy way possible. Why don’t you talk with the others?”

Kei put her sword back in its sheath and laid it beside her.

“I don’t know,” She answered with a shrug, “I haven’t talked to anyone in months. Anyone I can trust, anyway.”

“Well you should,” He suggested, “You can trust us. I’m sure the others would like to hear what you have to say. Dale especially. I can tell he already cares about you.”

The thought of the old man in the fisherman’s cap made her smile. He was nice, and a great comfort to her. Glenn patted her shoulder lightly and got up from the ground.

“Come sit with us sometime,” He offered, smiling lightly. Kei gave him a small nod and watched as he left to head back to the group around the campfire. She looked down at her plate and picked it up, placing it on her lap and slowly eating away bits of chicken.

 

 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=61956378) got up the next morning ready to go and retrieve her car. She assembled her bow and arrows and shouldered her quiver and sword. When she exited the tent, she saw Rick walking across camp with Shane. He called Andrea, Daryl, and T-Dog up towards the Cherokee, laying a map down on the hood of the car.

"Morning everyone. Let's get goin, we gotta lot of ground to cover," She heard him say.

Kei walked up to Carol's Cherokee, joining with the rest of the search team. She came in just as Rick began to speak,

"Alright, everyone's getting knew search grids today," He began, "If she went as far as the farm house that Daryl found she most likely headed further east than we've been so far."

Kei looked over to see Daryl walking up and putting one of his flannel shirts on. For the first time she had seen, he actually wore a shirt with sleeves. The conversation between Jimmy and Rick dimmed in Kei's mind as she saw four rather large scars extending themselves proudly across the hunter’s chest. She stared at it blindly, her mind racing as she analyzed the markings and started to deduce. The scars were old. He had them for a long time, possibly since childhood. The wounds were deep when they were made. He had been cut, but not quickly across like a gash you get when someone swings a knife at you. No, these scars were thick and jagged. Whoever did this to him in his childhood did it slowly, and made sure that it hurt. The person who did this to little Daryl was someone he knew, someone close to him.

Daryl snapped his shirt shut as the conversation came to him and his blue eyes took notice to Kei's curious expression. She looked away quickly as he stared at her, his eyes narrowing in the process. His focus then came onto Shane and Rick when Shane directed the conversation towards him.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than about… yey high," He replied, maneuvering his hand to show an estimation of the person’s height.

"Good lead,” Andrea chirped with a nod. Rick looked over at Daryl.

"Maybe that's where we'll pick up her trail then."

"No maybe about it," Daryl spoke, putting finger on the map in front of him, "Imma borrow a horse… head up to the ridge right here and get a whole birds eye view of the grid. If she's out there, I'll spot her."

 T-Dog looked over at Daryl with a nod.

"Good idea, maybe you'll see that Chupacabra up there too…" He replied sarcastically.

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked.

All eyes fixed to Daryl as he stared back at them in confusion. Dale then came up from the RV and placed the gun bag on the hood of the Cherokee.

"You never heard this?" He asked, "First night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra."

He handed a shotgun over to Rick and Jimmy couldn't help but snicker. Daryl eyed the young boy with a deadly look on his face.

"Whatcha brayin at, jackass?"

Jimmy's smile fell and his eyes filled with fear, making Kei snicker to herself. Rick shook his head.

"So you believe in a blood sucking dog?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"You believe dead people walkin around?" Daryl retorted. Rick nodded lightly in understanding. Jimmy then grabbed at a shotgun on the hood.

"Hey, hey," Rick spoke, placing his hand protectively on the gun, "You ever fire one of these?"

Jimmy only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders like it was obvious and no big deal,

"Well if I'm goin out I want one," He replied.

Daryl scoffed as he shouldered his crossbow.

"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees,"

Kei watched as the hunter shook his head and walked off towards the horse stables.

 

 

Kei clenched her hands together as she watched T-Dog expertly maneuver the truck through the graveyard of cars. Her eyes scanned the cars around them. Dead, decaying bodies were lying in the seats. Some were already half chewed on and hanging out of their cars. She sucked her lips inwards and closed her eyes. Seeing these bodies, it made her think about...

"Aight, here we are," T-Dog announced, parking in the same spot as the RV was. Kei looked out and saw they were parked right in front of a tan car, something was painted on the windsheild.

SOPHIA STAY HERE

WE WILL COME EVERY DAY

"Sophia..." She spoke out, "Was she...part of your group?"

Both Andrea and T-Dog's eyebrows raised slightly. This was the first time they had heard her talk since she got here.

"Carol's daughter," T-Dog explained, "The RV broke down here. While we was collectin' stuff and gettin' it fixed, a whole herd of walkers suddenly came through here. We all hid, but one found Sophia and she ran off into the woods."

"She's been missing ever since," Andrea added.

Kei looked at their solemn faces and then turned to look out at the forest. A little girl lost in the woods...

"You didn't...see anyone _living_ while you were in the woods," Andrea spoke slowly, "Did you Kei?"

The dark haired girl searched her memories before shaking her head.

"Just Walkers," She answered honestly.

T-Dog nodded his head and opened up the driver’s seat door.

"Well let's get this over with," He spoke out, trying to lighten the mood, "You see your car?"

Kei nodded and pointed to the back.

"Couple cars away," She replied. The three exited the truck and got to work. T-Dog grabbed the gas can and the siphoning tube. He and Andrea went off to get more gas while Kei headed over to her car. She got out her bow and got an arrow ready for use. She cautiously walked towards the black car and looked inside through the backseat window. Everything was still inside, the medicine, the gas cans, all of it completely untouched. She walked over to the backseat window and looked inside. Her clothes, weapons, and even the little food and water she had was still there. Everything checked out ok, and that made her grin. She turned and looked up ahead. T-Dog and Andrea were siphoning some gas from a Mini van.

  
"I gotta admit, it's wierd hearing her talk," T-Dog laughed, "Never thought I'd live to see the day."

Andrea chuckled lightly and leaned against the van.

"I know, it's nice though," She replied, "I was having better conversations with the chickens than I was with her. It'll be nice having some normal girl talk between us."

"She ain't no normal girl," T-Dog mentioned, earning an odd look from the blond beside him, "Now I ain't sayin’ it as a bad thing, but she got a past. I can tell."

"We all have pasts," Andrea claimed.

"I know, but Kei...She got a dark one," He spoke. Andrea furrowed at his tone. Concern mixed with...fear? Where as this coming from. Did he know something about her that she didn't?

A sharp whistle rung in the air. Both Andrea and T-Dog turned to look back. A Walker further down was staggering its way towards them. The rotted corpse let out a gurgled hiss as it reached it's bony, rotted arms out towards them. Andrea pulled her gun out and pointed it at the creature.

"I got it,"

T-Dog jumped a little at the sound of something hitting the car with a loud thump. Andrea turned and saw Kei running across the roof and swinging her arm sharply to the side. 3 black dots whizzed by and hit the Walker right above the eye socket. The creature flung back and hit the ground. Both T-Dog and Andrea looked up at the girl in shock.

"What the hell did you do?!" T-Dog asked out.

Kei leapt down from the roof without a word. She walked over to the corpse and yanked whatever weapon she used out of the Walker's skull. Andrea rushed up to her. She looked down at the thin and sleek black metal spikes in awe.

 "Bo Shuriken," She answered while wiping them off on the walker's shirt, "They were my grandfather's."

"Those could come in handy," Andrea spoke with a half smile. She placed a hand on Kei's shoulder in approval. The dark haired girl smiled back and looked back at T-Dog coming up with a gas can.

"Half full," He announced, "It ain't gonna last us if we find Sophia soon and Hershel wants us off."

"Hershel wants you off the farm?" Kei asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"He doesn't normally take in strangers," Andrea explained, "He told us once Carl gets fit for travel and we find Sophia, we gotta go."

"And we ain't gonna make it far if we cant find any more fuel,” T-Dog added.

Kei looked down for a moment before grabbing Andrea's hand and leading her over to her car. T-Dog followed them both to the trunk and watched as Kei opened it up. She smiled brightly, watching as their eyes widened like they stumbled upon a gold mine of holy treasure. Andrea put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my god," She gushed.

"Holy shit," T-Dog gasped, his eyes as big as tennis balls, "You said you had a lotta stuff, but I didn't think you had a whole damn hospital with you!"

"When things got bad, my family and I took shelter at the hospital," Kei explained, looking back down at the pile of hospital supplies, "My cousin was a doctor. He lent us all his medical supplies after they..."

She stopped mid sentence, suddenly remembering what happened and the reason why he stole all of the supplies. The army, their so-called "Security" was slaughtering live people in the halls. Men, women, children, doctors and nurses were lined up along the walls, and they were executed by the firing squad. The only reason why her family got out alive was because of her cousin and a group of nurses that did everything in their power to lead them through the hospital. They helped them to escape, and in the end, they ended up getting killed.

She felt an arm wrap around her. Kei snapped out of her thoughts and looked to Andrea in surprise as she held her close.

"This is wonderful," The blonde soothed, "You really don't know how much this means to us. Thank you."

Kei looked up at her and smiled, holding down the sadness and swallowing the lump in her throat. She would save the tears for another day. She had people to look after for now.

 

Andrea and T-Dog rode back in Daryl's truck with Kei following closely in her own car. She had missed driving, funnily enough. It was nice riding around, watching the scenery roll past as she drove down the road. When they arrived back to the farm, Kei parked her car outside of the house. Lori and Carol walked out onto the porch along with Maggie, Beth, and Patricia. Hershel was last to walk out, wiping his hands with a towel as Kei exited her car.

"What’s all this?" He asked.

The girl walked over to the trunk and smiled, gripping onto the handle.

"I brought something that I am willing to share," She replied, seeing the girls all look at her in surprise from hearing her voice.

She lifted up the trunk and revealed to the group her stash of medicine and gas. Hershel's daughters stepped forward in shock to look down at all that had.

"Antibiotics, bandages, gauze pads, alcohol," Maggie spoke, "Even—even surgical tools!"

"Daddy you gotta see all this!" Beth chirped.

Hershel stepped forward and looked around at the trunk.

"…Why," He asked out, looking over at the girl with narrowed eyes, "You willin' to share all this with us. Why? What do you want for it?"

Kei thought about it for a minute before shrugging her shoulders.

"Trust?" She answered, "Maybe a chance to let us all earn our keep?”

Hershel looked back to the trunk, his lips curling inwards.

"We'll only take _a little_ of what we need," He replied, "Your people will need the rest for when you're out there on the road."

Kei stared in confusion as the old farmer turned away and walked back inside. She turned to look at Maggie, her expression clearly upset from what her father had said. The dark haired girl looked to Lori for some answers, but the brunette only looked down at her feet and shook her head.

 

 

"I win!" Kei chirped, putting down her last Uno card. Glenn groaned and threw his head back, tossing the cards in his hand on the table and running a hand through his hair. Kei tilted her head a little. His hat wasn't occupying the top of his head this time, and she wondered why. Usually it was attatched to his head.

"How are you so good at this? That's the fourth game in a row…" He replied.

Kei leaned back in the seat and shrugged, giving him her most innocent smile. The two stared at each other and laughed for a moment. Kei shook her head a little and watched as Glenn leaned back, stretching his arms high before running his hands through his hair.

"What happened to your hat?" She asked curiously. Glenn let his arms fall back down to his sides and looked over at the girl. She could see the hesitation in his face. She shifted forward a little, her full attention now on him.

"Well…uh…you know Maggie right?"  
  
She nodded. Glenn licked his lips and looked down at the table, trying to find the right words to say,

"She's been acting really weird lately…" He explained, "Like we uh….we um...kinda…hooked up, yesterday…during our run.”

Kei's eyebrows shifted upwards only slightly. That would explain why it took so long for them to grab a bottle of shampoo for her, and that dumb smile on his face the entire time she saw them together yesterday.

"I mean…since then, she's just been acting really weird towards me," He explained further, "Like one minute she’s all into me, and then the next minute she doesn't want anything to do with me. She's being really, really confusing..."

Kei folded her skinny arms and leaned back in thought, carefully thinking about what to say. Truth be told, she didn’t really have the best experience with girls _or_ relationships. The only girls she had around were all trapped in huge building, forced to be around her. They were always in fear of her, and she made sure of that. On top of that, the only “relationship” (if you could call it that) she had been in was a complete waste of time, for her and the boy. She didn’t even really consider it a relationship.

"Look," She spoke, "I’m not good with relationships, let alone giving extraordinary relationship advice, so you don’t have to listen to me. But whatever you did with Maggie and whatever you're feeling now, I'm sure she's feeling the same way. She's probably just as confused.You've only known each other for a short time, this is pretty fast for you both.” 

She watched as Glenn nodded slowly, trying to process what she was saying.

"Just start over and try again with her,” She offered, “If you like her, get to know her, and not just physically. Let her get to know Glenn, and she’ll come around and let you get to know Mag—"

Her speech was cut short when the Winnebago's door opened up. Dale stepped in, and he seemed pretty surprised to see them together inside,

"Hey there, didn't expect you guys to be in here," He chirped.

"We were playing cards," Glenn answered. Kei smiled lightly with a quite nod while standing up. She looked down at Glenn and winked at him, hoping he would muster up the courage to talk to Dale about his troubles. He would most likely have better advice for the young man than she did. Kei looked back at Dale, and nodded to him as well. Dale looked at her questioningly and she quickly left the Winnebago. She heard Andrea on top of the Winnebago and waved at her, then turned back towards the camp. She saw T-Dog sitting down, cleaning out some of the dishes from breakfast.

She walked up with a smile. He looked up at her briefly and smiled back, turning to the dishes,

"Hows that leg of yours?"

She shrugged and looked up around into the fields before her. She heard T-Dog laugh as he scrubbed a dish,

"Yeah, I'm with ya on that. Just gotta love bein stuck in this camp."

They both turned to the RV and watched as Glenn stepped out. Kei saw the frustration on his face as he glanced at her with failure and worry in his eyes. He only shook his head and glanced away from her. Kei sighed. He obviously didn't get the kind of advice that he had hoped for.

"Walker! WALKER!"

Kei looked up once Andrea shouted and saw the blonde stand up on the roof in high alert. T-Dog threw down the pan and he, Glenn, and Kei stared out in the direction that Andrea was shouting towards.

"Just the one!?" Rick's voice yelled as he ran up. Andrea quickly grabbed the binoculars, looking out towards the forest. A dirty and bloodied figure was staggering out of the tree line, and was headed in their direction.

"I bet I can nail it from here!" She announced, setting down the binoculars and grabbing the rifle.

"No, No! Andrea, put the gun down!" Rick demanded loudly.

Kei stared at the very faint figure coming from the tree line, her other hand slowly wrapping itself around the handle of her sword. She swallowed a hard lump, took a deep breath, and quickly moved her legs, taking off in a dead sprint towards the corpse coming their way,

"Kei! Get back here!” Rick shouted. She ignored him and kept running. Kei's arms pumped faster and her legs quickened with each step. She grew closer to the figure as she moved across the road and into the tall grass. She watched as the figure’s arm swept back and forth as it stumbled along towards camp. She noticed blood all over the shirt and chest of the individual, but she had a bad feeling growing in her chest. Something within her told her to stop and that made her legs slow as she grew near.

"Kei!" She heard the men call behind her, but she didn't turn towards them.

He eyes were fixated on the figure before her as it walked closer and closer. Her mind began to put the pieces together as she saw a strap in its hands and a crossbow dragging on the ground behind it. That familiar flannel tucked around its torso and scruffy, dark brown hair that was tousled with dirty and blood. Her eyes widened. She heard the footsteps of Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn grow closer.

"Kei get away from it!" Shane demanded. She turned to see Rick raising his pistol at his head and the others ready to attack. The perp stopped and his breathing was fatigued and erratic. His head slowly moved up and his jaw clenched as he stared at the group. Kei looked to Rick and noticed from his expression that things began to register with him, and that “Walker” started to look awfully familiar.

"Is that Daryl?!" Glenn asked astonished. Daryl struggled to stay still as he gritted his teeth and stared at Rick,

"That's the third time you pointed that thing at my head!” He growled, “You gon' pull the trigger or what?!"

Kei and the others let out a small sigh of relief. Rick lowered his gun, shaking his head. Kei looked back at him and jumped as a gunshot then ripped through the air. She heard the zip of the bullet fly by them, striking the target behind her. She turned sharply around to see Daryl's body falling to the ground.

"No!" Rick screamed back towards camp, "NO! NO!"

Kei immediately rused to Daryl’s side and knelt down, putting her hand to her mouth in shock. She couldn't distinguish if the blood on his face was fresh or old from whatever had happened to him. She heard Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn run up from behind her. Rick and Shane rushed over and pulled Daryl's arms over their shoulders, trying lift up his body. Daryl rubbed the side of his head, panting heavily as he stared at the blood on his fingers only briefly.

"I was kidding," He slurred, his head dropping while in the process of being picked up.

T-Dog and Glenn walked with Kei and Daryl’s crossbow in tow as Rick and Shane began to pull Daryl back to camp.

"Oh my god, oh my god is he dead?!" She heard Andrea wail hysterically.

Kei looked up from around her bangs to see Andrea and Dale running up to them. Rick nodded as the two continued to pull him along,

"Unconscious… you just grazed him," He announced.

"Yeah but look at him, what the hell happened?! He's—He’s wearing ears!" Glenn exclaimed. He pointed at the necklace of four walker ears draped around Daryl's neck. Rick swiftly yanked them off  and shoved them into his own shirt,

"Let's keep that to ourselves," He hissed.

Kei and T-Dog noticed something drop from Daryl's body and they stopped. T-Dog leaned down and picked up a small rag doll and his eyes widened as he looked at Kei in recognition,

"Guys! Isn't this Sophia's?!" T-Dog asked as he lifted up the doll. The group stopped turned to see it, the same amount of astonishment that T-Dog had experienced.

"Let's get him to the house quickly!" Rick said and the two men continued to drag his body. Kei jogged after them, giving Andrea an expressionless glance as she walked by.

 

Dinner time had rolled around. Rick, Shane, and Lori had took turns visiting Daryl to make sure he was okay. Kei had been sitting outside his door for good 15 minutes, waiting for Hershel to be done with his hourly check up on the hunter. Ren and Ame laid down loyally by the girl's side, the two of them huffing and whimpering lightly in their throats. Kei gently petted Ren's head and ran a hand through Ame's fur, the gesture comforting both her and the wolves. The three of them perked up once they saw the doorknob twist and the door open wide. Kei rubbed the back of her neck as she stood up from the floor. She watched as Hershel stepped through and shook his head lightly, shutting the door behind him.

“Hershel,” She spoke out as he started to walk past. The farmer stopped and looked back at her, his mouth forming a faint smile.

“So you can speak,” He replied, “For a moment there, I thought I was dreamin’.”

Kei looked down at the floor and smiled nervously before looking back up at him.

“Can we see him?” She asked, looking down at both Ren and Ame. They were looking both anxious and excited, their tales wagging behind them.

He nodded lightly and held his arm to the door before heading down the hall. Kei walked up and opened the door, stepping in with her two pets following suit. They trotted inside towards the bed, Ren jumping up on her hind legs and placing her paws on the mattress. She extended her neck out with a wimper, reaching over and licking Daryl’s bare shoulder. He turned slowly to face her and patted her head with one hand, his other clutching the sheet to his chest. Kei peered at him curiously, watching as he attempted to hide his scars under the sheets.

“Take a picture, why don’t ya,” She heard him rasp.

“A…Are you alright?” She asked, looking at him with genuine concern.

“You obviously ain’t,” He muttered, “You actually talkin’.”

Even he could hear how bitchy that sounded. Instead of apologizing, he just huffed and snuggled deeper into his pillows.

“I ain’t feelin’ as good as I look,” He admitted, “But I’m alive.”

“I’m glad,” She peeped, looking down at the red wolf with a smile, “Ren wants to spend the night with you in here, if that’s ok…”

“Long as she don’t pee on me,” He answered lowly.

That comment made her snicker through her nose. She covered her mouth and quickly collected herself.

“Ey,” He spoke, his eyes looking at her in all seriousness. Kei looked back at him, waiting for him to finish what he was saying. He twisted his lips to the side a little, clearly thinking about whether or not to ask what he was going to ask.

“I ain’t gonna be able to hunt tomorrow,” He replied finally, “I’ve been trackin’ a deer, but I need someone remotely strong to help drag it back.”

“Wait, you want me to help you?” She asked curiously.

“I didn’t say that,” He answered, giving her a light smirk, “But since you offered.”

The corner of Kei’s mouth went up as she nodded. She called Ame along and the two headed for the door. She clutched onto the doorknob before stopping and turning.

“Feel better,” She spoke out before leaving the room. She shut the door behind her and pressed her back up against it. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose before stepping forward and heading towards the stairs.


	7. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But with all due respect," She spoke out, "He should learn how to defend himself."
> 
> Lori stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her, arms still folded and her expression still upset.
> 
> "And with all due respect, I'm his mother," She retorted, "And I'll get to decide what's best for him..."

The next morning, [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=62062242) headed out to the creek with Ame in tow to go wash. She was pretty excited. This time she had all her own stuff with her. She had her own towel, a washcloth, and her own soap. The soap was one thing she was more than happy seeing. She managed to steal more than enough soaps from that handmade cosmetics store in Atlanta. After everything went to hell and everyone was raiding the Walmarts, she was raiding the hospitals and the small businesses that was ever so easy to break into.

She stepped down into the creek and placed her sword and towels onto the boulder next to her. Ame stepped down into the creek as well and started bounding around in the water. She watched with a smile as she tied her hair up and kept it back with a bandana. She stepped further into the water with her bar of soap at hand, trudging forward until the water reached her hips. A small shiver ran up her spine, goosebumps crawling up and down her arms. She let out an audible sigh and grabbed the hem of her shirt, slowly beginning to slip it off.

Just as her shirt slid past her breasts, she heard a loud snapping sound coming from behind. She turned around sharply to see Daryl standing at the bank, looking down at her with a frown on his face. She let out a sharp gasp and lowered herself into the water, attempting to cover herself as best as she could. The young hunter merely smirked and shook his head at her.

“Don’ worry,” He assured, “Yer so thin an’ gangly, there ain’t much to really look at.”

Regardless, she wrapped her arms around her chest and eyed him.

“What are you doing out here?” She asked out.

“Said I was huntin’ a deer, didn’t I?” He remarked, slinging her quiver over his shoulder, “Yer supposta be helping’ me.”

“I’m washing myself,” She informed.

“Well I didn’ know that, now did I,” He replied, tossing her bow and quiver down beside him on the bank “Here’s your shit. Hurry up.”

She watched as Daryl disappeared from the behind the bank. He most likely walked away, but as she continued to wash, she couldn’t help but stare at the edge of land intensely.  Her mind kept telling her that he was probably behind some tree watching her, waiting for her to take her top off and give him a real show to think about later in the confines of his own tent.

A shiver went up her spine. She stood up and quickly started rubbing the soap bar all over her shirt and underwear. She pulled out her tank from time to time to reach under with one hand and soap up her skin. If he was watching, he sure as hell wasn’t gonna get _that much_ of show today. She dipped herself down into the water. She washed her arms and legs and the rest of her body before finally bounding off towards the rocks in record speed. She dried herself off as best as she could and climbed up the embankment, Ame following suit. She looked around and found Daryl standing by the tree with one arm folded over his torso. He looked up from the stick in his free hand and tossed it carelessly aside.

“You ready?”

“Do I look ready?” She asked out, “I’ve got to go back and change.”

Kei furrowed at him as she made her way back. She didn’t know why he was being so snippy. Then again he did get shot, and from what she heard from Glenn, he got an arrow jabbed into his side. She ‘d be a bit tense too if all that happened to her, and all she had to bring back from it was a simple doll. Still, it never payed to be so rude.

 

Kei quickly [changed](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=62086397) in her tent and rushed back into the forest. She found Daryl waiting by the same tree, arms folded and looking at her expectantly. Once she was close enough, he started to move away and head deeper into the forest. They walked for several minutes, and Kei was growing slightly impatient. The dark haired girl followed closely as Daryl kept his focus on the ground beneath him. He walked slowly, following the light foot prints in the dirt and leaves. Kei peered at his back for most of the time. He had a tattoo on his shoulder blade, part of it poking out from behind his sleeveless shirt. Presenting itself as well was another scar. Three scars. Two on his left shoulder blade, and one on his right just above his tattoo. Seeing them made her heart sink a little. Poor guy.

She perked up when Daryl turned his head and jerked it to the left, telling Kei that it was up ahead. The dark haired girl put up her hood and readied her arrow. She quietly stepped past him, looking past the trees and thickets to find their target. She heard rustling. She squinted her eyes. Something was near. She drew back her arrow and held her bow up, drawing the bowstring to her chin. She turned sharply to her right and let go, watching as the arrow whizzed by and struck through the bushes. Something let out a pained cry and fell to the ground with a thud. She rushed towards the bushes and ran to the other side. Sure enough, there it was—a large brown deer dead on the ground with her arrow sticking out of its neck.

Daryl came up next to her, folding his arms and looking down at her kill expressionlessly.

“Why did you point me in the other direction?” She asked, looking at him with a confused frown. She watched as he chewed on the inside of his lip before answering.

“Wanted to see if you were as good as Rick thinks you are,”

“You said I was good before,” She remarked,

“Said you was _decent_ ,” He corrected, “You was showin’ off that day with the apple. Showin’ off ain’t gonna help you survive. I wanted to see for myself how you coped when you’re thrown off a little.” 

“Whatever,” She said, shouldering her quiver and bow. She brushed past with an annoyed look on her face, whistling for Ame to follow her back towards the camp.

“Hey,” Daryl called, limping up after her. She stopped in her tracks and watched as he stepped up to her side. He gave her a stern look,

“You ain’t bad,” He remarked, “Now help me lift this back.”

Kei’s lips twisted to the side as she wordlessly obliged by his request. She walked on over to the deer, grabbed it by it’s spindly legs, and began dragging it back. Daryl’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he followed her back to the camp. For someone so fraile and weak looking, she was surprisingly strong. As they continued on, the hunter let out a sigh throse his nose, furrowing before sniffing the air. Something was odd. He smelled something…odd. It wasn’t the tang of dried leaves or rotted fruit, nor the scent of forest wood. It was the smell of…honey…and lemons. He followed the trail closely, sniffing lightly until he leaned closer to Kei, officially determining the source.

“Why you gotta wear that fancy soap, huh?”

“What?” The girl asked, turning her head only once to give him a confused look.

“Ya smell like fruit,” He specified, “A walker smells ya and yer dead”

“Yeah, well a walker smells you and you’re dead too,” She bit back, grunting as she yanked the deer along, “I stole it…from a store. I didn’t…have time to pick and choose, because the streets were overrun.”

“Where, Atlanta?” He asked.

Kei nodded.

“All hell broke loose in the city,” She explained as they continued to walk, “I was scavenging for an old group. A gang. They called themselves the Vatos.”

“Wait, the Mexicans?” He asked, his voice filled with sudden surprise.

“What?” She asked, furrowing at his strange sense of wording, “Vatos, yes.”

“I was there, Rick and Glenn and I,” He explained, “Where were you? I would’ve noticed a jap in a place like tha-”

“Call me that again and see what happens,” She snapped, eyeing him with breif bitterness, “I told you, I was out scavenging. Guillermo sent me out to get soap for the elderly. A fight between some survivors broke out in the street and I couldn‘t leave without being spotted.”

When she didn’t hear Daryl reply she turned her head, noticing his slightly shocked expression. A half smile couldn’t help but form on her lips.

“It was you,” She replied in realization, “When I came back, Philippe told me about some white trash hick shooting him in the ass with an arrow.”

“Whatever happened to them,” He asked, though he already had an idea why, “Why didn’t you stay?”

He watched Kei’s half smile fall, and then she turned away, looking forward in camp’s direction.

“The place got overrun,” She re-gripped the deer’s antler and dragged it on, “My pets and I bailed…”

Daryl nodded his head, falling silent as Kei looked down to the forest floor for a moment.

“The old ones though…they…” She paused again, swallowing the lump in her throat, “The leader, he got bit and the Vatos took him out. When I came back from my last run—”

“They were all dead,” He finished. Kei stopped in her tracks and looked at him with furrowed brows and slightly widened eyes.

“…How did you know that,” She asked breathlessly.

“Because my group and I went back to there after our camp got attacked,” He answered, “We went there for shelter and we saw the bodies.”

“They did what they had to,” She spoke simply, continuing to drag the deer along. Daryl had let go a while back and he watched as she dragged it all the way back to camp by herself.  
  
Rick praised Daryl and Kei for the deer they brought back. After giving the leader a small nod, they both stalked away to their respective solitudes. Kei went back into her tent while Daryl went back to the house to get his knife to help prepare some venison for dinner. Kei plopped down onto her sleeping bag and snuggled into her pillow, thoughts about the oldies and the Vatos running through her head.

_She got back to base with the hotwired U-Haul truck. She was lucky, it was in near perfect condition, and right out there in the open by the train tracks. It wasn’t insanely big, but big enough to fit the oldies and their wheelchairs inside. She parked the back of it right outside the entry way so everyone could get in safely. Walkers were everywhere. When she made it inside and yelled for the Vatos to bring the oldies, it was too late._

_She remembered the eerie silence, the bodies strewn everywhere, the blood on the walls. Phillipe’s grandmother, Mr. Gilbert, they were all gone. All the oldies were shot in the head, their bodies laid carelessly where they were shot down. She ran to the garage. All the cars were gone except for one H3 hummer at the end. One Vato sat lifelessly on the ground next to the car, his hand latched onto the car door. The outside was decorated with brains and blood. A Walker laid dead in front of him, it’s head half blown off and its hands latched onto the Vato’s gnawed on legs. She’ll never forget that image, how scared she was, how alone she felt as she cried in the hummer and pulled away from the hideout for good. Two families now dead. Once again, she had no one._

Warm tears rolled down her cheeks as she screwed her eyes shut. It was only a matter of time before this group came and went, she was sure of it. They would all die or leave, and she would have no one again. She would have no one.

 

“She alright?” T-Dog asked, taking notice of the sound of sniffling and crying coming from Kei’s tent.

“She seemed pretty upset after hunting with Daryl,” Rick mentioned.

“Well that sure explains it,” Shane scoffed.

“It don’ explain nothin,” Daryl jeered, slowly taking a seat on a lawn chair, “She got all emotional after I asked her ‘bout her old group.” 

“Old group?” Rick asked.

“She was with those Mexican guys that took Glenn back in Atlanta,” Daryl mentioned.

“The Vatos?” Glenn asked out in surprise.

“How come we didn’t see her there?” T-Dog asked. 

“Said she was out on a run when she heard a fight go down in the street,” The hunter explained, “That was when Glenn got taken. She couldn’t get out of the store she was in without getting spotted. When she came back, the old people were all dead.”

“What about the Vatos?” Rick asked, “Does she know where they are?”

“The hell if I know, she got all emo after that,” Daryl stated.

“Your ability to sympathize with others continues to amaze me,” Andrea spoke out.

“I do my best, Andrea,” Daryl sassed. Rick turned and looked at Kei’s tent. Ren and Ame were laying down outside of it. They each had a sad look on their face, and Ren let out a light whimper through her nose.

“We’ll talk to her tomorrow,” He offered, “I think she wants to be alone for now.”

The next morning, [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kei/set?id=61544859) sat by the campfire with Carol, watching Lori boil the water to get ready for washing. Glenn was going around handing peaches and jerky to everyone, awkwardly wishing them all good morning. Kei watched him, furrowing at his odd behaviour. He was acting more antsy than usual. Something was up.

“You alright?” Carol’s soft voice asked out. The dark haired girl turned to look at her, watching as she continued to fold clothes beside her and chat.

“Heard you cryin’ last night,” She explained, “You wanna talk about it?”

Kei’s dark eyes traveled to the dirt as she gently kicked aside a few dirt clau and wood chips.

“I was just…thinking about things,” She answered, “About the past.”

“Daryl said he brought up some stuff about your old group,” Carol spoke.

“It’s not just my old group,” Kei admitted, “It’s a lot of things…my…my family mostly.”

She watched as the water in the pot steamed and started to bubble over the fire.

“You lost family? Back in Japan?” Carol asked, her eyes saddening at the girl’s pained expression. She reached over and placed her hand gently on the Asian girl’s.

“Kei?”

She nodded lightly without a word. The short haired woman chewed on her lip a little and looked to the ground.

“I lost family too,” She replied, “All of us have here.” 

Kei looked up at her, suddenly remembering the sign on the windshield.

“I’m so sorry about your little girl,” She expressed, holding her hand lightly, “It must be so hard for you.”

“It is,” Carol sighed, “It is, but I’m…I’m trying to keep hope. My baby’s out there, and we’re…we’re gonna find her…What happened to your family? If you mind me askin’.”

Kei’s pained expression reappeared. She turned away and looked down to the ground. Carol leaned in closer.

“You know,” She peeped, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Sometimes it’s good to talk about it with someone.”

Kei’s dark eyes met Carol’s soft and sad grays. Should she tell? She never told anyone her story before, not the Vatos, not the other survivor groups she’d joined in the past, no one. She was a mystery to all she crossed. She was a sealed book.

Her lips twisted to the side as she looked to the ground, trying to suppress the memory that reeled in her mind repeatedly like a broken record.

“They all got bit,” She answered, remembering the marks on her parent’s forearms, “All of them did, except me…I had to…”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and let out a shaky sigh through her nose.

“Kei,” Carol’s voice cooed. She placed a thin hand on Kei’s and held it firmly, letting her know that she was here, that everything was alright. Kei looked to her, and the sad woman’s heart slightly broke. The warm Kei was gone again, and only the cold and damaged loner remained. She was used to it by now. Daryl was the same way.

“It doesn’t matter now,” The dark haired girl answered quickly. She got up in a hurry and made her way over to Dale and T-Dog as they set up the Winnebago awning. Dale was the first to notice Kei’s pained look and instantly became concerned.

“You alright?” He asked. Kei folded her arms and nodded without a word as Glenn came up next to her.

“Hey guys,” He chirped, “Here’s some peaches for ya.”

He held up the bucket of peaches and jerky with a nervous smile. Dale and Kei reached in and grabbed their share.

“Sup?” T-Dog asked while reaching inside the bucket and grabbing a large juicy peach. Glenn paused and looked at him like a deer in headlights.

“Nothing!” He snapped suddenly, clearing his throat, “I mean—Nothing’s up, why?”

He rushed off before the three had a chance to even contemplate his strange behavior. T-Dog and Dale just exchanged odd glances with each other. Kei squinted at the back of Glenn‘s head. He was hiding something, something big.

She looked over and saw Carl handing a piece of jerky over to Ame. Those two were growing closer and closer by the second, it made her smile. It had been a long time since her two pets had any human interaction. They were soaking all of it up like a sponge.

She looked around and noticed Ren wasn’t anywhere to be found. She furrowed and started to walk around, searching for the red wolf. She had made it over to Daryl’s tent when Andrea stepped out of it. Her eyebrows went up in surprise for a breif second before furrowing together in worry.

“How is he?” She asked, watching as Andrea nervously brushed some hair behind her ear.

“He’s fine, a bit bored I guess,” She spoke, stuffing her hand into her pockets with a sad sigh, “I still feel like shit though. He wouldn’t be like this if I hadn’t had my head so far up my ass.”

Kei watched as Andrea’s blue eyes traveled down to the dirt. The woman really did feel bad. Of course, she had every right to, she nearly killed one of their own. In this world, making a mistake like that was costly. You weren’t just killing a live person, you were eliminating a valuable asset to survival. You were killing yourself, and your group. She continued to watch the blond with great curiosity, the way her lips trembled a little and her blue eyes shifted in deep thought. What was it that you did in these situations again. There was something you were supposed to do when someone was miserable. Something she did with Carol earlier…

Oh, that’s right. Give comfort. Put on a sad face and touch their shoulder and feed them the delusion that everything was going to be all rainbows soon enough.

She reached out and placed her hand on Andrea’s shoulder, gripping it gently in comfort.

“You were trying to protect the group,” She reasoned with a light smile, “We all understand.”

The corner of the blonde’s mouth shifted upwards as she looked back up at the girl in front of her.

“Thanks,” She replied, pointing her head towards the tent, “Your dog’s inside. You know, the red one? She hasn’t left his side for a minute. I think she‘s grown on him.”

She slowly brushed past the girl and walked on to get ready with the others for gun training. Kei slowly pulled the tent door aside and peeked in. Ren was laying faithfully at Daryl’s side, wagging her tail as one large male hand gently petted her head. The other hand was holding up a book titled ‘The Missing Man.’ Intriguing. She never took him for someone who enjoyed books.

“Daryl?”

The man laid the book on his chest and raised his head a little. He looked at her and let his head fall onto his pillow as she stepped inside.

“Can’t have a moment’s peace ‘round here, can I,” He groaned.

She let out a scoff and looked down at the food in her hands.

“I uh…brought some peaches and jerky for you and Ren, if you want any,” She offered. Ren perked up right away at the sight of the dried salted meat in her hands. She tore off a piece and tossed it over to the red wolf, watching as the animal happily gnawed and chewed away at it. She stepped further inside and took a seat next to him, watching as he scooted closer towards the mesh screen window and sat up. His eyes scanned her. His chin bobbed and down slightly. She noticed that he did it a lot when he was thinking about something.

“You just gonna stare at me all day, or you gonna hand me that peach?” He asked roughly.

She didn’t break eye contact with him as she tossed the round and fuzzy fruit over to him. He caught it and took a bite without missing a beat.

“Is that all?” He asked, sounding more curious rather than rude.

"How… how'd you do it?" She inquired suddenly.

"Do what?" He asked, wiping the peach juice dribbling down his chin.

"How did you end up with that gash on your side?" She specified.

"Went out on the search over the cliffs," He answered, "The stupid jackass I went out on tossed me and I ended up fallin' down the cliff. When I landed, one of my bolts got lodged in my side. S’all there is to it."

Kei's dark eyes trailed down to the floor and she chewed the inside of her lip. Daryl narrowed his eyes at her,

"What? Now you gonna get all emo cuz I'm layin’ here all banged up like this?"

"No," She answered defensively, "I was just worried, that's all. You went in looking remotely clean and came back looking like microwaved shit."

She paused when she heard a scoff coming from his direction.

"Screw you," He snickered, wiping his chin again. A light smile appeared on her face as she looked down, suddenly remembering the dirty and bloodied man in the field who nearly gotten his brains blown out.

"Hey," Daryl spoke, causing Kei to look over at him. His chin started bobbing up and down again as he looked to the floor for a moment.

"About yesterday, I'm sorry 'bout calling you a Jap. Wasn't right of me."

"A southern man apologizing for saying a racial slur," She scoffed, "The world really has ended."

"I'm serious," He remarked lowly, "I ain't...I ain't like other people. Yer a woman, and I shouldn't have said that to a woman, don't matter what race."

"You are... _fascinating_ ," She gushed with an airy laugh.

"Shut up," He grumbled.

"You are," She chirped out.

"I ain't!" He bit, "I'm just mannin' up and apologizin', from one bein' to another. That's all." 

He took a few more bites from his peach before looking down at Ren. The red wolf licked her lips and looked up at him, her head cocked slightly to the side. Her bright eyes stared at the juicy yellow fruit in his hand. He smirked at her and tossed the fruit to her feet. He reached over and scratched the dog's ear as she gnawed at it happily.

"How long have you had these two?" He asked, watching as the wolf bit off the fleshy fruit and sloppily chewed it.

"A little after I was left on my own," She answered, "After my family got infected, I was the only one left. I ran out of our summer home in the woods and made it to a river. I was crying my eyes out when these two just came out of nowhere and watched me. They came up to me and started licking me and tried to clean up all the blood."

"Blood?" He asked out.

"M..." She paused breifly, suddenly remembering the heads that rolled across the floorboards.

"Animal blood," She answered, "I killed forest animals for food."

Daryl's eyes only squinted briefly before staring down, watching Ren as she gnawed on the hard red pit.

"So why the wierd names?" He asked while petting the red wolf's fur, "Why not somethin' easy like Sparky."

"Ren means 'Lotus' in Japanese, and Ame means 'Rain'," She explained, "I wanted something strong, almost warrior-like. These wolves aren't like your average wild dogs."

"I ain't even seen wolves down here," He mentioned, "Not for awhile, anyway..."

Kei nodded a little and looked down at her knees, awkward silence slowly starting to swell between them.

"All your family got bit, huh,"

She looked up at him sharply, her eyes slightly widened. His neutral expression didn't falter, he just watched her, watched her as her eyes fell to the floor.

"Yeah," She admitted, "I had to...um…I had to kill them all..."

"Their brains, they don't work anymore," He explained, "The human part or whatever is gone after they die. Then they come back. They come back to life as things, they're not pe—"

"No," She interrupted, "No I killed them, while they were alive."

Her gaze tore away from the floor and went over to him.

"Very much alive," She specified. Daryl's lips curved inwards, peering at Kei's slightly dazed expression. Her eyes may have been on him, but he could tell her mind was somewhere else. It was back in the night when she slaughtered her family, her brain replaying the events over and over. Play. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Pause. Remember.

" _Hey_ ,"

Stop. Suppress. Save the tears for another day.

She swallowed lightly and blinked a few times, noticing Daryl now right up in her face and looking at her.

"You alright?"

She blinked a few times before holding her head, pain slightly aching her right temple.

"Yeah, kinda,"

"Listen, we all had to do some heavy shit to get where we are now," He remarked, "You ain't the only one."

"Did you lose family?" She asked, watching as he leaned back and laid back down on his sleeping bag.

"My dad, my uncle, and my brother," He answered simply, eyes focused on the ceiling, "My brother's ass is still out there somewhere, but I don't know..."

"Were you two close?"

He scoffed at that question.

"He was always off doin’ some shit,” He answered, turning his head to look at her, “What ‘bout you?"

"What about me," She retorted.

"That scar on your collar bone," He mentioned, eyeing the thin white line running across her right clavicle.

Her mouth twisted to the side a little, remembering the little boy who swung her grandfather’s sword across and managed to cut her.

"I got cut with my sword," She answered, "I was training with my grandfather and his apprentice back in Okinawa. I was 10."

"You been using a big knife like that for that long?" He asked, eyebrows raised slightly.

She nodded, looking to the nylon floor in sadness. She missed her grandfather and his words of wisdom. She missed praying at the Kijoka falls and shopping for fish in the Ogimi village. She missed him, and she missed his young apprentice Sen. Most of all Sen. He was her best friend in the entire world. The only friend she had. He was the reason why she’s still living.

"I had to learn to use many weapons," She answered, “I was trained from youth to defend and to fight.”

"Ya don’ look so dangerous," Daryl replied, his eyes wandering over her, "Look like you could blow away with the wind any second."

Kei let out a small laugh and shook her head, looking back over at the hunter with a faint smirk.

“Everyone who I’ve gone up against has had the same attitude,” She remarked, “All of them have ended up with either a knife in their side, or a severe concussion.”

Daryl scoffed off her remark, but Kei wasn’t kidding. She was serious. Every person who had tried to harm her in some way thought she was easy game. They all thought she was just a little weakling that wouldn’t fight back. All of them ended up being sorely mistaken. Her foster brother of all people would know. The scars he had recieved from her would stay with him for the rest of his miserable life, and she was proud of that. That thought alone made the faint smirk on her face grow into a full fledged smile.

 

The sun was high in the sky. Carl was sitting on a wet boulder, watching from a safe distance as Kei swung her sword around in the middle of the creek. When she looked back, she noticed he had two long skinny branches in his hand. He slipped off his shoes and stepped into the water with her.

"Can you teach me?" He asked, holding up the long stick. She looked at him curiously.

"I saw that small sword in the back seat of your car," He replied, "Can you teach me how to use it? My parents won't let me handle a gun, but I want to defend our camp."

Kei cocked her head to the side, and she watched as his expression started to soften.

"I want to look for Sophia..." He admitted, looking down at the ground. His big blue eyes looked up and directly at her. She could see great strength, and burning determination behind. He really wanted to learn. He was so young though…but then again she was younger than he was when she handled a sword. She resheathed her weapon in one fluid motion and truged her way over to him. She took the stick from his hand and held it the same way she did her sword.

"The weapon that you saw is my Wakisashi," She explained as she walked over to the embankment, "Both were worn by members of the Japanese warrior class. Together, they were called the _daisho_ , and represented the power and personal honor of the samurai."

Carl nodded, staring at her intently as she started to write strange symbols in the dampened dirt on the side of the bank.

"There are seven main virtues of Bushido," She explained, " _Gi_ , _yuki_ , _jin_ , _rei_ , _makoto_ , _meiyo_ and _chugi_. Righteousness, courage, charity, respect, honesty, honor and loyalty."

She turned to look at Carl and saw him nod in understanding. She smiled lightly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If I teach you, you’ll have to practice bushido daily," She informed, "It's the moral code of the samurai. You fight to protect, and you remain loyal to your master and to your family until death. You fight to the very end."

She watched as he nodded again, and she could see the spark of determination in his eyes. He was focused, intent on learning everything he could, and that made her smile on the inside.

"I will," He promised, gripping the stick in his hand tightly. She gave him a nod and gestured over towards the water.

"Let's get started then,"  
  
The two stood in the middle of the creek, practicing sword stances and positions. She taught the young boy the art of _Batto_ , how to unsheath the sword, and _Noto_ , the technique on how to re-sheath the sword. Carl was a good pupil, a faster learner then she had expected. He managed to get the stances and positions right almost every time, and only got hit two or three times out of 10.

" _Jodan Gamae_!" She called out. Carl raised the stick high above his head.

" _Hasso Gamae_!"

He lowered the stick held it to the side of his head.

" _Waki Gamae_!"

He lowered the stick again and swung it to the right side of his body, holding it slightly behind him. He turned and looked to Kei for approval. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Again," She demanded, " _Hasso Gamae_!"

The two practiced together for another 10 minutes or so before going on land to practice swinging.

" _Kata te_ ," She demanded.

He held the stick with one hand.

" _Moro te_ ,"

He placed his other one on it as well. She nodded lightly in approval, and together they continued to practice swinging and striking at their imaginary enemy.

 

"You did good today," Kei assured, patting the young boy's shoulder as they walked back towards the farm. Carl smiled lightly and held the stick firmly to his side.

"So I'll be able to use the sword now?" He asked in a hopeful tone. She let out a small giggle and shook her head. He was so eager.

"Not yet," She replied happily, "You still have a _long_ way to go."

"Do you know anything else? Like Kung-fu, or-or throwing knives, or ninja stuff?" He asked. She shook her head with a smile and saw the camp coming up through the trees.

"Something like that," She answered, "I was trained in the way of the samurai from my father's father, and the way of the ninja from my mother's father."

She looked down to see Carl looking up at her with eyes wide with admiration. He looked almost star struck in a sense, like he was meeting a real comic book hero or something. She smiled lightly at him and continued to look forward.  
  
"I was only trained in the way of the ninja to survive and defend," She stressed, "Never to attack unless there was a duty I was to uphold."

"That's _so_ cool," He gushed, "What else can you do? Can you run around really fast? Can you run up walls? Can you teach me all that stuff?"

"All of it takes years to learn, Carl," She laughed, "I had to start when I was very young."

"Well I'm young, and I've got years," He spoke with a smile, "I've got all the time in the world."

True. It was the end of the world after all. All these people had now was time. No one had jobs or school or any special plans anymore. All anyone had to do nowadays was live, and survive.

"I'll think about it," She responded, looking ahead as they broke through the forest line, "For now, let's just focus on the sword. Be sure to wear loose clothes tomorrow too, we're going to train early."

Carl nodded in understanding and walked ahead towards camp. Lori was watching them from the campfire as they walked up. The young boy rushed over to his mother with a smile and gave her a tight hug.

"And where did you two go off to?" She asked with a smile, running her hand through his dark hair lovingly.

"Kei was teaching me some stuff," He replied in excitement. The tall brunette looked up at Kei, the smile still on her face.

"Oh yeah? What kind of stuff,"

"Samurai stuff," He replied, letting go of her to hold up the stick in his hands, "I'm training to be a warrior."

"A warriror, huh?" Lori asked, giggling lightly at her son’s excitement.

"Yeah! I'm gonna learn how to use a sword, and—"

"Oh whoa, whoa whoa," She interrupted, her dark green eyes widening slightly, "A sword?"

"Yeah!” Carl beamed, “Kei knows all this cool stuff about swords and ninja fighting and-"

"I-I don't think that's a good idea, Carl," His mother interrupted, her happy tone now uneasy and hesitant.

The young boy paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side.

"W-well…well why not?"

"I don't like the idea of you runnin' around with a sword," She stated, holding her arms with a concerned expression on her face.

"W...well you won't let me use a gun," The boy justified, "So I thought I could use a sword. I wanna def-"

"Carl, I thought we discussed this," She spoke harshly, "You're too young to use a gun and you're _just_ back on your feet."

"That's not fair though!" He whined, his voice now getting louder, "I want to help! Why can't you—"

He paused immediately when he felt a hand suddenly touch his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up at Kei. She was giving him a look that reminded him of the oath he took only hours ago.

_"Another virtue of Bushido is Ko," She spoke, writing the kanji word for it in the mud, "It's a virtue of respect for one's parents and ancestors. You must honor your parents and show them respect at all times."_

Carl's lips twisted to the side and his eyes traveled to the dirt. He turned his head looked up to his mother, taking a deep breath into his nose.

"Okay," He let out, nodding lightly, "Sorry for yelling."

Lori's eyebrows raised in slight surprise as Carl kept his head down and walked past her. She turned and watched as he made his way to the house before turning to look back at Kei. The dark haired girl kept her eyes to the dirt.

"I don't want my son learnin' from you on how to use one of your knives," She stressed in a harsh whisper, "I don't mean to sound bitchy, but it's the truth. He's just back on his feet from gettin' shot, and I don't want him using a gun, or a sword, or any weapon for that matter right now."

"I understand," Kei responded sincerely. Lori nodded to her and turned away, walking back towards the farm house.

"But with all due respect," She spoke out, "He should learn how to defend himself."

Lori stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her, arms still folded and her expression still upset.

"And with all due respect, I'm his mother," She retorted, "And I'll get to decide what's best for him..."

 

Little to Kei's surprise, Carl got caught trying to steal his mother's gun. He also tried to learn how to shoot from Shane under the radar. His mother was adamant about him not learning how to use one, but Rick managed to talk her out of it. The man had a way with words, and a way with changing minds and hearts. It was truly a gift.

Noon time rolled around, and everyone else had left for gun training. Dale, Hershel, Glenn, and Daryl were the only ones who stayed behind. Hershel was off in the stables tending to the horses while Dale and Glenn talked about god knows what by the Winnebago. Daryl's exact whereabouts were currently unknown to Kei, but she figured that he was in his tent sleeping. She walked along the fields with Ren and Ame at her side. She stared out at the amber waves with a sigh, running her hands along the soft wheat heads.

"What on earth am I doing here," She spoke out to no one in particular, "Playing house with a bunch of strangers. I should be heading out to Fort Benning."

She turned and looked down at Ren. Her little eyebrows raised and she huffed lightly. A smile couldn't help but creep up onto Kei's face.

"You're getting too comfortable here, huh," She spoke to the dog, "Your little crush on Daryl Dixon isn't making things any easier."

The red wolf wagged her tail lightly and barked, making the girl giggle lightly. It was quickly cut short when she heard a low and menacing growl as they walked beside the barn. She looked down and saw Ame staring at the barn. His nose wrinkled and his teeth flared. He let out a vicious snarl. She looked to the barn's front doors curiously.

"What is it, boy?" She asked out. She stepped closer and jumped when Ame let out a series of sharp barks. She took a step back and looked to the grey wolf in worry. Ren perked up suddenly as well and mimicked her companion's reaction. She snarled and huffed at the barn before cautiously stepping forward and standing beside Kei, opening her mouth. She gently took hold of Kei's hand with her teeth and gently tugged her backwards. Kei stared at the barn the entire time in confusion until it suddenly clicked. There was only one reason why they reacted in such a way.

Walkers were inside.


	8. Secrets Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’ve all gotten hurt, we all lost people, so don’ go on an’ tell me to mah face that I don’ fuckin’ know! I lost mah only family, Andrea lost her sister and Carol just lost her lil girl! You ain’t the only one sufferin’ here!”

Kei rushed up towards camp to find Rick. No one who had left for gun training earlier was back yet. She let out a grunt and rushed towards the Winnebago. Dale and Glenn were standing under the awning with worried looks on their faces. She hesitated for a moment before suddenly realizing Glenn’s strange behavior.

He knew already. And by the look on Dale’s face, Glenn had confided in him.

“What’s going on?” She asked cautiously, stepping closer to the two. Glenn turned his head and looked at her like a deer in headlights.

“Well u-uh—”

“There’s walkers in the barn,” Dale admitted without missing a beat. Kei nodded her head and looked down at her two pets beside her.

“Ame caught their scent,” She explained, “Are the others back yet?”

“No, but I’m not too keen on telling them just yet,” Dale answered.

“Why?” Glenn asked, his voice cracking a little in nervousness. Dale looked down at the ground in serious thought before looking up and out towards the field.

“I don’t want to create a panic…”

He wasn’t talking about the group. He was talking about Shane. The man had been on edge as of late, making crazy choices and bickering with Rick on every decision he made. Lori had mentioned how he had changed since he got back from the high school that had been overrun. The man he was with had died, sacrificing himself to get Shane out with the supplies needed to save Carl’s life. Now when Kei had heard the story, she knew herself that it didn’t play out. Dale must’ve thought the same too, because behind Shane’s back, he would talk to Kei on the RV’s roof about the kind of man Shane really was now.

_“He killed Otis,” He spoke, as if confirming it with himself, “He sacrificed him so that he could get out alive. He’s reckless. He’s even pulled a gun on Rick. I saw it with my own eyes.”_

_Kei watched Shane from afar. He was watching Lori and Carl play fetch with Ame. The two of them laughed as they tossed the stick a good distance away, Ame darting after it with an excited bark._

_“They were in the woods,” Dale explained to the girl, “Rick was several feet ahead scouting for more walkers. Shane had his gun pointed right at his back. He had him in his sights and he kept him there. You shoulda seen that sick look in his eyes…”_

“Well what do we do?” Kei asked, looking at the two men in concern.

“Let me talk to Hershel first,” Dale insisted, “After that, I’ll talk to Rick. He’s smart, logical. He’ll help us keep the barn secure.”

Glenn turned his head sharply and stared at the old man with widened eyes.

“We’re actually gonna stay here when there’s walkers in—”

“Shhh! Sh!” Kei hissed, watching as Daryl walked by with a glass of water in his hands. The three stared at him as he walked past and stopped when he noticed their voices cut short.

“The hell are yall lookin’ at?” He jeered. Glenn shook his head quickly while Dale turned to look like he was heading back inside the RV.

“Not a word of this to anyone,” She heard the old man mutter, “Not yet.”

Daryl shook his head at the three and continued on towards his tent. Kei sprang forward and trailed after him. Daryl only looked back once before scoffing and shaking his head.  
  
“The hell do you want,” He growled.

“How are you doing?” She asked curiously as she walked behind him.

“Same as I was when you checked on me this mornin’,” He answered, “Jesus woman, why you so interested?”

Kei looked at the ground briefly in thought. Why was she so interested in him? Her question answered itself when she suddenly remembered the scars on his back and torso. She chewed on her lip a little before looking up at the back of his head.

“I just am,” She answered simply. Her answer made him stop at the front of his tent. She saw his head raise a little before he turned around to look at her. Her lips shifted to the side as she gave him a crooked smile before stepping away.

 

She walked on towards the open field nearby and swiftly unsheathed her sword. She placed the sheath to the side and held her sword up in front of her, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath through her nose. Her feet shifted around as she started to maneuver her sword around, transitioning her moves in fluid motions. Daryl was sitting on the fence, watching her contently as she practiced to herself.

“Heard you was teachin’ Carl how to sword fight,” He mentioned loudly, “That’s cute.”

The corner of Kei’s mouth turned up a little as she swung her sword across, a light whistle ringing off in the air.

“He wants to defend the camp,” She replied simply, “In order to do that he has to have the mind for it, and the heart. It‘s going to take a lot to defend what you love, what you’re faithful to.”

“Some deep shit right there,” He mentioned with a smile in his voice,

“My grandfather’s words,” She corrected with a light laugh, “He was a samurai, as was his father before him, and his father, and so on.”

Daryl’s eyes focused onto her back. He could see a dark mark poking out from behind her tank top. It wasn’t dirt, but rather a tattoo by the looks of it. From what he could see the marking was large, dark, and it ran all the way down from her right shoulder blade to the back of her right hip. She swung her sword to the left. The head of what looked like a black dragon poked its head out.

“What about you?” He heard her ask. Daryl blinked a few times before looking back up at her face.

“Wha?”

“Do you want to learn?” She asked, holding her sword firmly to her side. The hunter let out an audible “Pfft.” and shook his head.

“Hell no, I know ‘nuff to get by an’ take a walker down. It ain’t rocket science.”

“No, but it’s a good way to relieve stress,” She offered, “To control anger.”

“Wha’ bout my anger,” He asked in a challenging tone.

“You seem to have a lot of it,” She mentioned, “Anger clouds judgement, it’s not healthy.”

“The hell do you know about healthy,” He asked in a defensive tone, “Look at ya. A bean pole that looks like she hadn’t eaten as lil as a cracker in years. We feed ya, and you give it all to your dogs. I bet you don’ sleep either.”

“Well how can anyone even sleep at a time like this?” She asked out. She had stopped maneuvering her sword this point, her body fully turned to face him. She watched as Daryl’s eyebrows knitted together. He slid off the fence and started making his way up to her. He was only a couple feet away, but Kei could see the anger brewing in his expression. Clearly, she struck a nerve.

“’Scuse me?” He asked. She took a breath through her nose and stood firm.

“How can anyone, any one of you live and cook and clean and act like everything’s okay?” She asked, holding her arms out, “Look at where we are, Daryl. Look at what’s happening!”

She took another sharp breath through her nose and let it out in a frustrated sigh. She then turned back around to walk ahead and continue practicing.

“You’re all delusional…” She muttered bitterly. She only managed to walk a couple feet before she was stopped by a loud and bitter “Hey!” She turned around to see Daryl trudging right for her.

“I know what’s happenin’, I ain’t stupid,” He grit, stepping up to her and getting into her face. Kei looked into his eyes. Stormy blues now burning with anger from that comment she made. Still she held her ground, and didn’t budge as he continued to snap at her.

“We ain’t delusional neither,” He bit, “We’ve all gotten hurt, we all lost people, so don’ go on an’ tell me to mah face that I don’ fuckin’ know! I lost mah only family, Andrea lost her sister and Carol just lost her lil girl! You ain’t the only one sufferin’ here!”

Kei’s dark eyes continued to stare into his. They then dropped to the dirt floor at the thought of Carol, and all that she had been through. Of course it was only natural for her to want to find some comfort, some humanity with their new life. Who was she to say otherwise and call them crazy for wanting to be normal?

“I’m…sorry,” She spoke, her voice just above a whisper, “I didn’t....”

“Look, I…” He paused briefly to let out a sharp sigh, “You need to start rememberin’ that you ain’t the only one anymore.”

He watched as her big eyes looked up at him.

“You got others to look out for now,” He remarked.

He was right. Crazy to say it, but Daryl Dixon was absolutely right. She had people like Carl to look out for now. She wasn’t alone in the woods and on the road with her two pets anymore. She was in a group with living, breathing, and damaged humans who needed protection. Now, she had to think of others outside herself.

She nodded at him lightly.

“You’re right, I…I shouldn’t have said that about you all. You’ve shown me nothing but kindness. It was wrong of me.”

The corner of Daryl’s mouth twitched upward a little as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Ain’t no need to beat yerself up,” He replied, “But say shit like that ‘bout us again, I’ll have to beat yer ass for it.”

She let out a snicker and shook her head.

“I won’t, I promise,” She assured. The two held eye contact with each other as a warm breeze blew past. Kei’s long bangs flew in front of her face and tickled the tip of her nose. She let out a giggle and brushed some hair out of her face, looking towards Daryl with a smile. It faltered only slightly when she saw his expression. He wasn’t looking at her with blatant lust or sadness or even anger. No, he was…reading her. Well, attempting to anyway. He was staring with great curiosity and…and something else. Something she couldn’t pinpoint. The hunter awkwardly turned away and broke eye contact, chewing on the inside of his lip again as he looked towards the farm.

“We should head back,” He suggested, his voice now sounding tense. Kei nodded lightly resheathed her weapon, holding it to her side as she followed Daryl back towards the fields. She couldn’t help but think about the look she gave him. What on earth was that? Normally she would be able to look at someone’s expression, identify it, and pretty much know what they were thinking. But that look Daryl gave her, she couldn’t understand it at all.

“When we get back, you’re gonna eat your food,” He asserted suddenly. Kei turned her head and looked at him. He was being dead serious.

“I mean it,” He said, “Don’ want ya blowin’ away with the wind.”

“I’m not gonna blow away,” She assured with a light laugh, “I’m fine, honest.”

“Ya might’ve fooled the others, but ya ain’t foolin’ me,” He insisted, “Yer gonna eat.”

“I do eat,” She protested.

“I mean properly,” He spoke, “Everythin’ Carol gives you. I don’ want you passin’ out in the woods somewhere if you go out.”

Hearing this just threw the girl off. If she didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn that Daryl Dixon was looking out for her right now. He was actually caring for her well-being, and thinking about that made the girl want to know why.

“Daryl, are you…”

She stopped suddenly just as he stopped. He looked at her with a challenging expression on his face.

“Am I what,” He spoke, his tone daring her to say what was on her mind. She was smarter than that. She merely shook her head.

“Nevermind,”

His eyes scanned her over and he scoffed through his nose, the smirk on lips saying “yeah, that’s what I thought.” Kei folded her arms and continued to walk on with the hunter towards the farm. Once they reached camp, Daryl carefully took a seat on a lawn chair, holding his side and wincing only slightly. Kei offered a hand to help him, but he rejected it quickly and told her to go do something else. In turn, she rejected that idea quickly and instead got him a water bottle from her tent.

“Here,”

She handed him the bottle with a light smile. He only eyed it for a few seconds before taking it and unscrewing the cap.

“You gonna be my nurse now? Trail after me and do everything I ask?”

“I’m only looking out for you,” She insisted, “And I’m not gonna do everything you ask, I’ve got a mind of my own.”

“Damn, and juss’ when I found a good spot where we could fool around,” He teased with a scoff.

“Awww, too bad,” She cooed, “Maybe try your luck with Andrea.”

He let out another scoff and shook his head, taking a sip from the water bottle with a light smirk. Kei turned away with a smile and looked out towards the barn from afar. An uneasy feeling suddenly arose in her stomach.

“Hey Kei!” She heard a little boy’s voice chirp. She looked to her right and saw Carl rushing up to her with Ame at his side. He stopped in front of her and held up the sticks they were training with from before.

“I’m ready to train some more,” He proclaimed, excitement radiating from his voice. Lori’s upset expression immediately flashed across her mind, and it made her heart sink a little.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Carl,” She warned, “Your mother was upset with me last time. She doesn’t want me training you.”

“But she let me use a gun today,” He urged, “I-I asked her, and my dad. They said it was alright as long as it was alright with you.”

The girl’s lips twisted to the side and she stared at Carl firmly, waiting for him to cave and say “Okay! Okay! I didn’t ask!” Instead the boy just held out a stick to her and gave her his most desperate look.

“I promise,” He assured, “You can even go ask them. They said it…Please?”

The young boy watched as Kei’s wary look melted away into a smile. She nodded lightly and took the stick from his hand.

 

" _Jodan Gamae_ ," She spoke sternly. Carl raised the stick high above his head.

" _Hasso Gamae_ ,"

He lowered the stick held it to the side of his head.

" _Waki Gamae_ ,"

He lowered the stick again and swung it to the right side of his body, holding it slightly behind him. He turned and looked to Kei with a light smile. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Stances," She demanded, “ _Kata te_.”

He held the stick with one hand.

" _Moro te_ ,"

He held his stick with his free hand as well, and observed Kei’s hands closely on the end of her own. She went on to explain to him how the hands were key to moving the sword. She showed him wrist movements, and how to position his arms whenever he swung or blocked. He had caught on quickly much to Kei’s surprise, and within the hour he had almost all the key movements memorized.

 

“He ain’t bad,” T-Dog spoke, watching from the camp site as Kei and Carl trained several feet ahead.

“You really think a walker is gonna be all classy and follow that samurai bullshit?” Shane scoffed, “She should be teachin’ Carl hand-to-hand, not all this kung-fu and how to swing around a big knife he’ll never have.”

“Well at least it’s giving him something to do,” Andrea spoke honestly, “He’s happier, and he’s been staying out of trouble a lot more thanks to those three.”

The three of them watched as Kei called out something in Japanese and Carl brought his stick straight down into a vertical cut. Together they swung their sticks to the side, then to the right, and then struck at each other. Kei held her stick high and struck down, Carl blocking her move with his stick over head. He listened closely as Kei explained his next move and nodded.

“Hold the blade in front of you so the tip is pointing straight up,” She instructed, holding Carl’s hands to help him point the stick in the right position. Once he had it down, she stepped backward and held her stick in the proper fighting stance.

“Okay, now attack me,” She instructed, “Ready?”

Carl nodded lightly and held his stick forward, bending his knees slightly and getting into the proper fighting stance. She watched as his hands gripped nervously onto the stick’s handle. He took a deep breath through his nose, his little chest rising and falling slowly. She took a slow breath as well, closing her eyes only for a second before springing into action and lifting up her stick. Carl’s stick had clashed with hers at an instant, his branch pressing down on her own. He had lunged forward to attack and she blocked it so fast, the little boy barely saw her move.

“Whoa,” He gushed in awe, “You’re really fa-”

“Defend!” She spoke out, swinging her stick around swiftly before bringing it down in a vertical strike. Carl let out a yelp and held his stick above him, blocking Kei’s attack instantly. His eyes widened in surprise at his move and a huge grin appeared on his face. The small audience watching them clapped and cheered the little boy on.

“That’s it Carl!” Dale cheered.

“Take her out, buddy!” T-Dog shouted.

He nodded firmly and swung his stick to the side, his move gently pushing Kei’s stick away so he could step back and recalculate the next blow. The young girl stepped forward and struck diagonally. Carl swung his stick diagonally in the opposite direction and the two weapons met in the middle. Strike after strike their sticks clashed together, both meeting each other’s attacks and moving around in a warrior like dance. Carl managed to swipe at her leg, and in turn Kei pressed her stick into his shoulder. The two stopped fighting instantly and stepped away from each other. They both stood straight and bowed to each other respectfully before Kei went over to ruffle his hair.

“Perfect,” She replied, “Keep this up and you’ll be able to use the sword in no time.”

A series of light claps went off as Carl beamed and rushed over to the group. He earned several praises from T-Dog and Dale. Lori had joined in as well, having seen her son’s progress and patted the young boy’s back with a bright smile. Shane stared at Lori and Carl in longing only a few feet away. Kei squinted at his expression and nodded to herself. So, he was in love with Lori. He was protective of her and Carl, and that would explain his bitterness towards Rick. He was just a little boy in a sandbox, and Rick was the kid with all the nice toys.

 

The sun was officially setting. Purple and pink clouds rolled across the orange and blue sky. The sun’s light gave everything, even the fields a beautiful amber hue. Kei stepped out of the farm house and watched the fields from the porch. She took a deep breath through her nose and sighed. It really was nice here. Not only was it safe, but beautiful as well.

She heard the screen door swing open and a pair of heavy footsteps thump out from behind. They stopped suddenly and she heard a man sigh.

“Yer supposed’ta to be inside,” She heard Daryl rasp.

“I was just admiring the fields,” She admitted, watching as the wheat fields rolled with the gentle breeze, “It’s really beautiful here.”

She heard Daryl’s footsteps come closer. He stepped up next to her and leaned onto the porch railing.

“Here,”

He held out an apple to her. She stared at the fruit before looking at him quizzically.

“Said you was supposed to eat,” He remarked, subtly hinting towards their earlier conversation, “Now eat.”

She took the round gold and red fruit into her hands and put it to her nose, sniffing it lightly as she looked out at the field. It had been a while since she truly looked at an apple. Now that the world had ended, she truly looked at things and appreciated them for everything they were. She bit into the fruit and smiled at the sweet, crispy taste. Its tanginess sent her tastebuds into a frenzied bliss, making her eyes shut and her mouth form a smile. Who knew that she could achieve such a feeling from a simple piece of fruit?

“S’just an apple,” She heard Daryl scoff beside her, “Ya look like yer ‘bout to pass out.”

“I haven’t had an apple in ages,” She admitted with a sated sigh, “This one beats all the apples I have ever eaten.”

The young hunter just scoffed and shook his head, looking back out at the fields. She lazily rested her head on his shoulder and felt his muscles suddenly twitch and tense up. He recoiled slightly, but only for a second before relaxing and letting her head just rest there. He stood there with her and watched the fields, his mind picking apart every possible solution as to why of all shoulders she chose his. One side his conscience smacked him upside the head and told him to quit overthinking. She was probably just tired and his shoulder was the next best thing to a pillow. The other side of his conscience told him that he was getting soft, and that he should either shove her out of the way and leave or try to hook up with her and get it over with. The thought of that made him shudder lightly. That was the Dixon side talking right there. It had been clear since his childhood, when he witnessed his dad bring home several women other than mom each night, that Dixon men did not have relationships. Even Kei’s gesture, though very small and innocent, would be border-lining on “getting to know someone”. Were his brother around and he saw this, it would earn him more than a little good natured taunting. Dixons just got off and got out. There was no dinner and a movie, no getting to know someone.

_“Next’ll be puttin’ a ring on the bitch,” Merle would often slur out, “Juss leave em’ rode hard an’ put away wet, baby brutha.”_

“Suppers ready, you two,” Andrea called, causing Daryl to suddenly jerk away like a cat splashed with water. Kei stumbled to the side a little as he turned to see the blonde peering at the two of them. She a smile on her face that she was clearly trying to hold back, but failed miserably. He scratched his whiskery cheek as his jaw impulsively bobbed up and down.

“Not hungry,” He mumbled out. He quickly turned away from the two girls and made his way off the porch. Kei watched from the railing as he stalked on back towards his tent.

“You hungry, Kei?” Andrea asked. The dark haired girl turned towards her and nodded her head. She followed Andrea inside, but not before turning back to catch one more glimpse of the hunter. She let out a light sigh through her nose and shook her head before looking back out towards the field. She could see Lori and Rick by the fence. Rick was walking away, his hands on his hips and his head low. Lori was making her way back towards the house. Her head hung low as well, and she was holding her arms. Kei’s lips twisted to the side in thought. Clearly, they had an argument over something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello little darlings! I hope you're enjoying yourselves. I just wanted to inform all you walking dead lovers and tea drinkers out there that I have tea blends based on The Walking Dead characters up. I only have 5 blends up right now, but more characters are coming soon! woot woot! You can find them at Adagio Teas here: ([X](http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/group.html?group=1849&SID=18fcc929b595bf34ffe0460e73cc4a49))
> 
> I say this BECAUSE A: um, it's The Walking Dead, and it's tea. Can i get a hell yes?  
> AND B: because I love you, and if you love fandom you'll freaking love Adagio. They are fandom lovers, let me tell you.  
> oh and just so you know I only blend the flavors and draw the labels. I don't personally make any money off of it. oh but I do get points though since i'm a member! which help me get more tea samples so i can concoct more blends. Enjoy! xx


	9. Pretty Much Dead Already

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “S-So uh…” He cleared his throat, “…The barn’s full of walkers.”

Rick walked through the forest early next morning, trying to collect his racing thoughts. All that he learned yesterday; finding the morning after pills in his tent, the relationship going on between his wife and his best friend while he was in a coma. He couldn't believe it. Lori was pregnant. She was pregnant, and what was worse, there was a chance that he wasn’t even the father. It was a lot to take in.

There was so much he wanted to do right now, so much he wanted to say. He just wanted to scream and have all this end. He just wanted to yell and beat Shane's face in. He wanted to break his jaw and watch him bleed and choke on his teeth. He wanted to just get a gun and—

He stopped walking. He leaned up against a tree, letting out an agitated sigh he didn’t know he was holding in. He ran his hands through his curly hair and tried to mentally set aside all the cludder and noise in his head. He needed to think. What was their next move? They couldn’t leave, not while his wife was pregnant and Sophia still missing. They wouldn’t last out there. He needed to convince Hershel to stay. Hershel had to let him stay.

He let out a swear under his breath, shaking his head and putting his hands to his face. He just wanted things to be stable for a moment, just a moment. For once, he just wanted to sit down and not worry about a single thing at all. He wanted time to just stop.

And then he heard a sound.

Rick slid his hands off his face and looked around. That sound, it wasn’t hissing from a walker or shuffling leaves from footsteps. It was a voice, a singing voice coming from someone living, someone close. He listened closely and tried to follow the singer’s voice chiming peacefully in the air. He found himself arriving to the edge of land that dipped down into the creek. He cautiously lowered himself to the dirt and quietly crawled over to the edge, peeking down at the singer below. It was [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kei/set?id=61861790). She was standing in the middle of the creek with Ren in front of her, washing her rusty colored fur with a bar of soap. She was wearing only an oversized grey tank top. Her long dark hair pulled up into a messy bun, a red bandana acting as a headband. He watched curiously for a while as she sang to herself and continued lather up Ren’s fur with soap. Her hands moved delicately against the water as she scooped some water up. She gently tipped the bucket and watched as all the soap washed way on Ren’s fur. The red wolf suddenly shook in place, causing water droplets to fly everywhere. Kei attempted to use the bucket as a shield, but it was no use. She let out a laugh and knelt down to splash the dog back.

“Ren! Stop it!” She laughed, “I’m not the one who needs a bath!”

The red wolf barked once and continued to wag her tail as Kei resumed washing her. The corner of Rick’s mouth perked up into a half smile, watching the girl and her red wolf. He quietly slid away and stood up, ready to continue on his walk when he heard Kei speak out.

“You alright, Rick?" The leader’s eyes widened slightly and he turned around, cautiously stepping back up to the edge. Sure enough there she was, her and Ren staring up at him.

“You knew?” He asked her.

“You’ve walked past here at least three times,” She answered simply, looking back to Ren and continuing her task. Rick’s eyes fell to the floor before he carefely made his way down from the embankment. He stepped onto the damp patch of earth and made his way over to the boulder standing next to him. He took a seat and watched as Kei dumped more water across the wolf’s soaking fur.

“My first time noticin’” He admitted.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind,” She remarked with a light scoff, “I’m surprised you haven’t gone off the deep end yet.”

“Yeah well…I feel like…Like I’m losin’ more of myself every day,” He confessed as he looked down at his hands, “I’ve been letting everyone down, more often than not.”

He looked up and watched as Kei rung out her tank top.

“Lori’s pregnant,” He admitted suddenly, watching her turn to look at him with slightly raised eyebrows. His eyes fell to the water and he ran a hand through his hair.

“She was trying to abort it,” He went on, “She had Glenn run into town and get her some pills. She threw them up after taking thm, thank god, but—”

He paused at the thought of Shane and his wife in bed together. His muscles tensed up and the lump in his throat seemed to swell.

“But she and Shane…they…she—”

He screwed his eyes shut, clenching his right fist and teeth in unison. He was so angry, so sad and lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even notice Kei walking up to him. It wasn’t until he felt thin fingers place themselves gently on his shoulders that he looked up. Big dark eyes looked down at him sympathetically.

“Rick,” She spoke softly, “It’s okay….”

He scoffed. Oh, the number of times he’s heard and said that.

“I just…I don’t know,” He sighed roughly, “I don’t know what to do right now...”

He watched from the corner of his eye as Kei stepped forward and sat down on the rock next to him.

“Well…you have every right to feel angry,” She reasoned, “Maybe even sock Shane in the face a couple times."

Rick let out a light laugh and nodded. Oh, did he want to.

"But...try not to completely purge yourself and forget all that you’ve been blessed with," She encouraged, "Be happy that Lori didn’t give up the baby. Be happy that Carl survived and that you’re all alive and well.”

It was then that the black cloud hanging above him seemed to fade, more and more by the second as Kei’s soft voice rang in his ears.

“Be happy that you have your family,” He heard her say, “And that you’ve been able to keep them alive so far…”

Rick turned his head and looked at her saddened expression. She was thinking about her family right now.

“What happened?” He asked, earning a quizzical look from the girl next to him, “What happened to your family?”

Kei’s eyes traveled away from the man. She turned her head to watch Ren play around in the water.

“We were trying to fly back to Japan,” She confessed, “They closed off all the gates after a few infected people turned in the airport. The army was slaughtering everyone in the terminal. My family and I escaped to the hospital, but the same results occurred.”

Rick watched as her throat bobbed as she swallowed deeply.

“We took refuge in the woods,” She went on, “While we were heading up to our summer home, our car broke down. We had to walk, and while heading up there, a group of walkers came and attacked us. We managed to escape, but…”

She paused, chewing on her lip a little before looking down at her knobby knees.

“We didn’t leave unscathed,” She finished, “I was the only one who was careful. My Parents and my grandparents got bit, and my little sister got scratched. I had to kill them in order to survive, they said. My grandfather gave me the family’s katana, and he begged me to do it.”

Her eyes grew dark, an echo of the horrific memory appeared behind them.

“I did what I was told, and I…I killed them,” She confessed, “One by one. I had to cut them down and I....”

Rick’s heart sunk at the sight of Kei’s pained expression. Her full lips trembled lightly as she wiped away the tears that rolled down the apples her cheeks.

“Kei,” He spoke softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, and let out a small gasp as he leaned in and suddenly hugged her.

“I’m sorry,” He replied honestly, “I really am.”

Kei’s arms slowly rose and wrapped themselves around his torso. She buried her head in his shoulder and screwed her eyes shut, trying to remember the last time someone truly hugged her like this. It had been a long while since she met another human who genuinely cared. Now she had a whole group of humans who cared. It was nice. It was really, really nice.

Rick unwrapped his arms from around her and turned to look at the morning sun rising higher into the sky.

“We should head back,” He suggested. Kei nodded lightly and called Ren to her side.

 

Just as the three made their way back to camp, everyone was starting to wake up. Carol was out by the campfire cooking eggs while Andrea was sitting down on a log sharpening her knife. Dale was over by the Winnebago when he saw Kei and Rick walk up together.

“Everything alright?” He asked, noticing Kei’s moist cheeks and glassy eyes. The young girl nodded lightly with a smile and turned to Rick.

“Everything’s good,” She spoke, turning back to Dale, “Everything’s good.”

The leader nodded to her in understanding and turned to go back to his tent. Dale on the other hand stood there and tried to make out what on earth could have happened.

After Kei got [dressed](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=87490635&lid=1950767), she exited her tent and took a seat next to Daryl at the camp fire. She watched across from her as Carl fed Ame a slice of chicken from his plate. The young boy giggled lightly and petted the gray wolf’s fur. The sight made her smile brightly until it was cut off by a plate of eggs. The meal was somehow blocking her view. She turned to her left and saw Daryl holding the plate. He didn’t have to say anything because his stern look said it all. Once more, he wanted her to eat.

She took the plate from his hand and scraped the yellow scrambled egg clumps around with her fork. She picked up a few pieces and ate them without hesitation. Ren watched her closely with a cocked head and pleading eyes, licking her lips to try and get the message across. Kei looked to her left. Daryl was focusing intently on his plate, forking up more eggs and placing them in his mouth. She turned back to Ren and secretively dumped some scrambled egg onto the ground, the Red wolf diving down to lap it all up. She turned back to look at her plate with a smile when her grin quickly dropped. More eggs had been piled on, along with another piece of chicken.

She looked up at Daryl and saw him eyeing her as he placed another forkful of chicken into his mouth. His intimidating expression was daring her to say something, but she decided against it. She merely continued to eat without a word, and looked across at Andrea. The blonde had a satisfied smile on her face, like the one you would see on an adult looking at two adorable children.

“Uh, guys?”

Kei perked up. She turned towards the speaker and saw Glenn uncomfortably shifting in his posture. He shoved a hand into his pocket and nervously rubbed his mouth with the other. His eyes shifted over to Kei for encouragement. She nodded lightly, and watched as Glenn’s chest rose and fell.

“S-So uh…” He cleared his throat, “…The barn’s full of walkers.”

Everyone suddenly perked up and turned towards him like a family of meerkats. Glenn started to recoil slightly like a scared turtle as Shane set his plate down and walked up to him.

“What’d yew say?” The man asked.

“The-The barn? I-It’s full of walkers,” Glenn repeated nervously.

Everyone’s attention turned towards the old wooden barn only a stone’s throw away from camp. Rick was the first one to get up and start making his way over there. Shane and the rest of the group followed suit. Everyone approached the barn and stopped in front of the locked doors. Kei stepped forward, wanting to officially get a look inside. A strong hand took hold of her tiny wrist and gently tugged her back. The dark haired girl stopped and turned to see Daryl eyeing her cautiously.

“Don’t,” He warned, pulling her back a little to stay a bit behind him. Kei looked at him in slight confusion as he looked towards the barn. His expression, the way his eyes squinted and his upper lip twitched, it reminded her of how Ren and Ame looked—how they got super defensive and pulled Kei away from the barn. If he were a wolf right now, he would be growling at it, she was sure.

Shane was the one who stepped forward in her place. He peeked inside a crack between two panels of wood before backing away with a shake of his head.

“You can’t tell me you’re okay with this,” He seethed towards Rick.

“No I’m not, but we’re guests here, this isn’t our land,” Rick hissed.

“Oh jesus, this is our lives man!” Shane growled out.

“Lower your voice!” Kei hissed. Shane turned and stared at her with cold eyes, but she stood her ground and stared at him right back. Andrea interfered and pointed towards the barn.

“We can’t just sweep this under the rug,” She stated firmly.

“It ain’t right,” T-Dog remarked as he stared at the barn, “Not remotely.”

Kei watched as Shane paced back and forth like a hungry dog. His breathing was getting heavy and his thoughts were racing.

“Okay, we either gotta go in there an’ make things right, or we just gotta _go_ ,” He urged, “Now we’ve been talkin’ about Fort Benning for a long time.”

“We can’t go!” Rick argued.

“Why Rick, why?!” Shane barked.

“’Cause my daughter’s still out there,” Carol answered, holding her arms with an upset look on her face. Shane huffed and let out a snicker, putting his hand to his face and shaking his head.

“Ca…I think it’s time that we just… _consider_ the other possibility,”

“Shane, we’re not leaving Sophia behind!” Rick growled.

Daryl brushed past Kei and Carol, pacing side to side.  
  
“We’re close to findin’ this girl, I just found her damn doll two days ago!”

Shane sputtered out a laugh at him.

“You found her doll Daryl,” He quoted, “That’s what ya did, you found _a doll_!”

Daryl paused for a second before he threw his arm up at him, walking towards the man.

“Man you don’ know what the hell yer talkin’ ‘bout!”

Rick tried to intervene, but Shane kept barking at Daryl, egging him on. As the two men bickered their heads off, Rick held out his hand to keep Shane a safe distance away from the hunter, trying to calm him down in the process.

“Shane, Shane just stop—”

“Nah I’m just saying what needs to be said!” Shane barked, “Man you get a good lead for the first 48 hours and let me tell you something else, man!”

Kei walked up behind Daryl and gripped on his arm as he slowly stalked towards Shane. He didn’t look back at her, he only kept his eyes locked on the man with the shaved head.

“If she was alive out there,” Shane jeered, “And she saw you comin’, all methed out with ya buck knife and geek ears ‘round yer neck, she would run in the other _direction_ man!”

And that’s what set him off. Rick’s thought process was two steps ahead (thank god) and predicted Daryl’s next move. He put his hand out to stop him, but the brute force of Daryl’s arm slammed up against him as he and Shane began to go at it and argue. Daryl attempted to charge at him, but Kei gripped onto his arm and attempted to yank him back. Then the rest of the group got in involved. Andrea and T-Dog tried to help Kei keep Daryl back while Lori and Glenn helped Rick with Shane.

“Don’ you come at me, boy!” Shane spat at the hunter, “I’ll beat your ass! I’ll beat your ass if you come at me!!”

“Shane! Stop it!!” Rick barked. He and Lori shoved Shane back, and the man stared at them with fire in his eyes. Daryl kept his eyes locked on Shane, mentally kicking his ass as he was kept back by the others. Kei kept a good grip on his arm and begged for him to calm down.

“Please,” She urged desperately, her voice seeming to finally make him listen. He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes wild with hatred for the man in the dark blue Sherriff’s cap. Her hands slid down from his arm to his wrist, her eyes full of something he wasn‘t really used to. Fear, and worry.

“Please,” She begged once more. Daryl’s eyes broke away from her own and looked towards Shane. The arguing had finally ceased, and he was currently holding a scolding finger up at Lori.

“Keep your hands off me,” He warned bitterly. He started to stalk his way back to camp while Rick stared at the back of his head with clenched teeth.

“Just let me talk to Hershel,” He growled, “Lemme figure it out!”

“MAN, WHAT YOU GOTTA FIGURE OUT?!” Shane barked out, turning around sharply and charging at him like a mad pitbull. Lori interfered and pressed her hand against his chest.

“Enough!” She let out.

“If we want to stay safe and clear the barn, I gotta talk him into it!” Rick yelled, pointing towards the barn, “This is his land!”

Dale suddenly walked forward, his hands out like he was about to place it on Rick’s shoulder.

“Hershel sees those things as people,” He proclaimed as he pointed towards the barn, “Sick people. His wife, his stepson are in there.”

“You knew?!” Rick asked out.

“Yesterday, I talked to Hershel,” The old man admitted.

“And you waited the night?!” Shane barked.

“I thought we could survive one more night,” Dale snapped back, “And we did!”

Kei tuned out Dale’s voice for a second as she observed Shane’s behavior. He was becoming reckless, losing touch with his humanity. The way his nose wrinkled, how his eyebrows furrowed together in that animal-like snarl of his, how cold and dark his eyes got. She saw this in her wolves. Whenever walkers attacked, their faces would grow dark and menacing like that. Only two instincts would kick in: Protect and Survive, by whatever means necessary. Judging by Shane’s rash decisions and how he sacrificed Patricia’s husband at the high school, he was thinking the same way. Shane, Rick’s brother, however he was before, was dying away. An animal that didn't know anything except survival was taking its place.

She was ripped away from her thoughts as Shane gave one last shout and the barn door threatened to open. Walkers shoved and pounded against the doors, making them push out at the startled group before returning inward. She suddenly felt a strong hand grip her by the arm and pull her backwards. Daryl had pulled her back and put her behind him, gripping the buck knife at his side as their groans and hisses grew louder. Kei eyed the chains from behind the hunter’s back in wariness. God knows how long those rusted things would hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I know, this chapter is a tad short. I had to split it up because it was literally just one loooonng ass chapter hahaha. I'll post the other parts later on today. Right now, I'm off to a meeting! See you lovelies! xx


	10. Pretty Much Dead Already pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Now if ya'll wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! And i'm talking about fight! Right here, right now!"

The rest of the group had walked on back to camp. Daryl and Kei lagged behind. The dark haired girl looked over her shoulder and peered back at the barn. Shane was pacing obsessively in front of the doors. He checked every little crack and crevice, looking over every little detail to make sure it was safe. It was actually kind of sad to see. From the way Rick described him, he was admirable and respected. He made good calls for the entire group before Rick became leader. He was the one who kept Rick's family and a majority of the others alive when all this started. That Shane seems to have faded away somewhere. All that was left in its place was something completely different.

“Asshole’s lucky I didn’ kick his teeth in,” She heard Daryl mutter next to her. The corner of her mouth twitched upwards.

“He’s all talk,” She replied, turning to look at him with a warm smile, “You could’ve kicked his ass any day.”

Daryl looked over at her thoughtfully, half smiling at her before looking forward.

“He better sleep with one eye open next time,” He warned.

“I bet he‘ll have to,” Kei snickered, “At this rate, his other one will probably be punched out by the end of the week.”

 Daryl let out a scoff and shook his head, listening as Kei laughed lightly beside him. His eyes shifted towards her and he watched as she brushed some hair behind her ear. Her dark eyes were glued to the floor as they walked on. He saw her expression change from happy to concerned.

“Worried 'bout the barn?” He asked. Her lips twisted to the side briefly as she nodded.

“Nothin’s gonna happen to ya," He assured her, "Alright?”

Kei turned her head towards him, her eyes widening only slightly. Did he just…indirectly of course, say he was going to…?

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna hurt any one of ya,” He added quickly, “Rick an’ I won’t let it.”

Kei’s lips curled inwards as she nodded, smiling lightly at the hunter. Daryl was truly looking out for her, for whatever reason. It didn’t matter why to her. The fact that someone cared so much, well, it restored her faith in humanity...sort of.

She reached over and gently took his hand, watching as he jolted slightly and tensed up. She held him back a little, indicating for him to stop for a minute. He turned his head sharply to her with a confused look in his eyes. She smiled warmly at him.

“Thanks,” She spoke honestly, “That means a lot to me.”

Daryl’s eyes traveled down to his hand now placed in hers. His nose twitched a little and he pulled away.

“Whatever,” He mumbled. Kei gave him a crooked half smile and quickly got on her toes. She leaned in as quick as lightning and pecked him on the cheek. Daryl jerked his head away and put his hand to his cheek, looking like he just got slapped in the face. Before he could get a word in she quickly ran off to find Carl. She let out laugh when she heard Daryl yell out something from behind her.

 

As the Afternoon came, Kei and Carl decided to go and play checkers on the porch. Beth and Patricia watched them peacefully while sitting on the porch swing. Glenn and Maggie were sitting on the steps, talking quietly to each other about something the other four couldn't hear.

“King me,” Carl chirped, setting his checker piece on the opposite side of the board. Kei smiled lightly and looked out from the porch with a sigh. It was such a beautiful day out, she never thought it could feel this peaceful. She stared thoughtfully out at the field. What a day this was turning out to be. Walkers were in the barn, Lori was pregnant, and Daryl Dixon actually gave a shit about her. The image of his confused deer-in-headlights expression suddenly came to mind. She chuckled lightly in her throat. What a dork. She would pay good money to see him make that look again. 

“You alright, Kei?” Carl asked, picking up his glass of lemonade and taking a sip. Kei nodded lightly to him, smiling as she leaned back in her rocking chair.

“It’s such a nice day out,” She breathed, truly enjoying the heat and the cloudless blue sky.

“Yall should go swimming later,” Patricia suggested, “We got a lake here, s‘nice and cool for a hot day like this.”

“Wanna go swimming, Kei?” Carl asked, his big blue eyes widening slightly in excitement.

“After lunch,” She offered, earning an excited nod from him. She smiled back and turned to look out at the field once more, furrowing slightly when she saw T-Dog and Andrea walk up with concern etched on their faces.

"Where is everyone?" T-Dog asked out as he approached the group by the porch.

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked.

"He went off with Hershel," Andrea answered, "We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago."

"Yeah we were, what the hell?"

Kei's head instantly turned in the direction of Daryl's voice, seeing him walking forward with Carol struggling to keep up.

"He told us we were goin out," Carol explained. Daryl scowled as he looked to everyone,

"Well dammit! Isn't anyone takin this seriously?!" He stopped and turned, throwing his hand out towards the forest, "We got us a damn trail!"

Everyone froze when Shane suddenly came charging forward from the field. The gun bag was safely secure on his shoulders. He, however, looked dangerous.

"Ah, here we go…" Daryl spoke, walking forward to meet Shane halfway. He stopped when he noticed Shane's menacing demeanor, his face dark with unfamiliar determination. 

"S'all this?" The hunter asked, staring at Shane in wariness.

"You with me man?" Shane asked. Kei's dark eyes narrowed as he pulled a shotgun off his shoulder, handing it over to the hunter. Daryl only looked at him once before latching onto the rifle. He took the gun and cocked it as Shane went on to grab a handgun from the bag.

"Time to grow up!" The man announced loudly. He looked to Andrea as he neared the porch, "You got yours?"

"Yeah," She answered slowly, "W-where's Dale?"

"He's on his way…" Shane answered. He handed T-Dog a pistol and the man looked at it cautiously.

"Thought we couldn't carry," He remarked.

"Yeah, well we can and we have to," Shane stated.

By this time, everyone crowded around and stared at Shane in shock. Rick’s right hand man stopped and looked to the group, another shotgun propped in his hand.

"Now look," He spoke out, "It was one thing for us to be sittin 'round here pickin daisies when we thought this place was safe, but now we know it ain't!"

He walked up to Glenn and put out the end of the rifle,

"How bout you man? You gonna protect yours?" He asked, hinting towards Maggie. Glenn looked over at Maggie hesitantly, but ended up grabbing the shotgun. Shane then looked to Kei, pulling out a handgun and holding it out to her,

"And what bout you, huh? You gonna earn yours and protect this group?"

Kei stared hard at Shane, her eyes dark and her expression deadpan. She saw the determination, fear, and greed in his eyes. His jaw muscles were tense, his nose wrinkled in a faint snarl. She shook her head no at him, and watched as he growled and went on to look at everyone else. Maggie stepped forward,

"Can you stop?! You do this, you hand out all these guns, my dad will make you leave here tonight!" She warned. Shane continued to pull out more pistols and guns, ignoring her completely.

"We have to stay, Shane," Carl urged as walked down the steps. He stopped next to Kei and leaned close to her. She looked down at him, and then back up when she heard Lori exiting the house.

"What is this?" She heard her ask out.

"We ain't goin anywhere, okay?" Shane asserted to the group, "Now look, Hershel-he's just gonna have to understand. Now we need to find Sophia, am I right?"

He pulled a small revolver from the belt of his pants and knelt down in front of Carl, holding it out to him,

"Now, I want you to take this,” He spoke, “You keep your mother safe and do whatever it takes. Go on, take it. Take the gun, Carl."

Kei was about to protest, but Carl’s mother was two steps ahead. Lori yanked her son back and stepped forward, looked down at Shane and getting into his face.

"Rick said no guns," She hissed venomously, "This is not your call, this is not decision to make!"

"Oh shit…" T-Dog let out, looking off towards the forest with wide eyes. Kei walked up behind him and followed his gaze. Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy had stepped out of the treeline, and were heading towards the barn. Rick and Hershel led two walkers out by long metal poles, the creatures lashing out towards Jimmy as he baited them.

"What is that…” Shane hissed, suddenly sprinting forward like a jack rabbit.

"Wait!" Maggie yelled as she sprinted off after him. Kei sprinted off after her, and everyone else followed closely behind. Shane shoved open the barn gate and ran down the dirt path like his life depended on it. Rick's face seemed to grow dark as his right hand man approached,

"What the hell you doin?!" Shane roared as he neared the leader and his walker. 

"Shane, just back off!" Rick barked.

Kei stepped through the gate and stared at what was happening before her. Rick and Hershel pulled along two Walkers, one male and one female on animal control catch poles. They growled and hissed, clawing out at whoever's warm flesh their eyes fixed on. Her eyes went over to Shane when she heard his frantic voice. He stared back at the group with venom and fire in his eyes as he pointed over to Rick and Hershel.

"You see?! You see what they're holdin on to?!"

"I see _who_ I'm holding onto!" Hershel bit as he and Rick continued their struggle towards the barn. Shane paced around them like a hungry wolf, eyeing them with fire in his eyes.

"Nah man, you don't see!"

"Let me do this so we can talk!" Rick begged.

"What we need to talk about Rick?!” Shane barked, “These things ain't sick! They're not people! THEY'RE DEAD! These things don't feel nothin! All they do is kill!"

Kei took a step forward, but was quickly cut off by Daryl. He stepped in front of her with the shotgun in his hands, pointing it at the male walker in an autobody worker's uniform. His stormy eyes shifted from the walker over to her, eyeing her and warning her to stay back.

"They're the things that killed Amy!” Shane lectured frantically, "They killed Otis! And they'll kill all of you unless we do something!!"

"Shane shut up!" Rick let out as they neared the barn door. Kei watched with wide eyes as Shane yanked the pistol from his belt and stood defensively in front of the barn door.

"Hey Hershel, let me ask you somethin," He spoke out, "Could a livin’ breathin’ person walk away from this?"

He raised his pistol and shot the walker Hershel struggled to control. Four bullets pierced the creature in the chest and stomach. Kei and the other girls yelped and flinched at the gunfire, watching as the walker stumbled back and growled, lashing out towards Shane in anger. The man continued to shoot at it, screaming at the old farmer and trying to get his point across that these things weren't people anymore. It was after the 9th shot or so that Rick screamed out "Shane, enough!" and his friend finally ceased.

"Yeeaah you're right man," He scoffed, "That _is_ enough…"

Shane walked forward and put the gun to the Walker's head, pulling the trigger carelessly without missing a beat. It fell to the ground and with a loud thud, Hershel fumbling with the catch pole and watching in horror as it fell to the dirt. Shane returned to the barn door and turned around, facing his group as he paced from side to side.

"Enough! Riskin our lives for a little girl who's GONE!" He barked, staring over at Carol who stepped backwards in shock. Kei took hold of her hand defensively and squeezed it.

"Enough! Livin next to a barn full of things that wanna kill us! _Enough!_ " He screamed, "Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! And I'm talkin' about _fight!_ Right here, right now!"

Shane ran towards the barn’s entrance and grabbed the pick axe that was leaning against it. He began shoving it against the barn door and hacking at the lock that kept the Walkers inside. Kei only stood back and watched as Rick plead for Hershel to take the other Walker so he could try and stop Shane. She could see the far off look on the farmer's face as he watched Shane. Everyone yelled in protest and Lori screamed for her husband. Carol stepped back behind Kei and the girl firmly stood in front of her. By that time, Shane had finally ripped off the lock and tore the board off the barn door, throwing it to the side and slamming his hands on the door.

"C'moooon!!" He yelled out, stepping back with his pistol loaded and ready. The barn doors opened up wide and the Walkers came piling out. A bald walker in overalls stumbled out with a bloody and rotted smirk on its face. Shane eyed the creature closely and fired a shot, the bullet piercing the walker directly in the skull.

Kei stepped back a little when she saw Daryl step forward and get right in front of her again. He lowered the shotgun briefly and looked back at her. She blinked. She could read the look in his eyes, and it completely threw her off. He wanted approval. He wanted approval from her for what he was about to do. She nodded lightly, stepping back with Carol's hand in hers. Daryl then turned and raised the shotgun, pointing it towards a female Walker that had staggered out of the barn.

Andrea and T-Dog ran forward, frantically raising their guns and backing the two men up. One by one the Walkers emerged and charged at their food standing only feet away. Their pace had quickened. Shane took another shot and everyone began to rapidly fire. Daryl ran up for a closer shot and consecutively fired, bringing down his targets one by one. Carl attempted to run up to his father, but Lori scrambled toward him and pulled him back. Rick turned and yelled at him to stay back while Maggie let Glenn know it was okay to go forward to help protect them all.

One by one the Walkers fell, the echo of gunshots ringing through Kei's ears. She and Carol stood there in disbelief, the two of them clinging to each other as they watched Hershel's family fall like flies. The last of the Walkers came staggering out, and the final shot coming from Daryl's gun rang in the air. After that, there was nothing. The only thing breaking the silence were the sounds of heavy breathing and quiet sobs. The sun beat down on the survivors as they stared at the damage that had been caused. Kei glanced around at everyone. She heard footsteps behind her and turned, seeing Dale approaching with his mouth wide open in shock. His wide eyes glazed over with confusion and horror, his hands gripped tighter on his rifle.

Hissing and groaning could be heard from deep inside the barn. Everyone stared into the darkness, the tension growing as they waited for the last walker to come out. Slowly, a small, shadowy figure staggered its way out of the barn. The figure put its hands up to its face, seeming to shield itself from the bright sun.  Its tiny hands slowly fell and revealed officially itself to the rest of them. Kei watched as everyone's mouths slowly dropped. Carol had put her hand to her mouth. Everyone's eyes grew wide. Muscles froze, and breathing seemed to halt with time.

Standing before them was a little girl. Time and decay had threatened her pale, blotchy skin. She was as thin and fraile looking as Kei; Her short hair greasy and clumped, but kept back with a sparkly headband. The large bite mark on her left shoulder had rotted and festered. Dried blood ran down her weathered blue shirt and stained it. The walker looked up with her big milky eyes, staring at each member with hunger on her face. No one had dared to raise their gun at her, and then Kei realized who this girl was. She turned when she heard Carol's voice break into a sob, her light footsteps suddenly turning into at a dead sprint.

"Sophia!!" She cried out. Kei reached out to grab her, but the frantic mother shoved her away. She ran past Kei and made a beeline for her daughter, but Daryl reached out and managed to swiftly catch her, holding her and lowering her to the ground. Tears began to run down the woman's cheeks as Daryl told her not to look. Her heart was breaking by the second. She attempted to get out Daryl's grasp and clamber across the ground for her daughter. She was only a stone's throw away.

"Sophia,” She whimpered, desperately reaching out for her little girl with her one free hand, “Baby…Sophia….”

As if hearing her mother's soft cries and the desperate calls of her name, Sophia walked forward. Her head jutted about as she growled at the line of armed group members before her. No one moved a muscle as she continued to stagger forward, growling and snarling at them. Kei's heart thumped in her chest. She turned to look at Carl. He was crying his eyes out on the ground with Lori's arms wrapped securely around him. She kept telling him not to watch over and over. Kei's heart began to ache. A warm sensation crawled up her throat and her eyes were beginning to sting.

She turned and watched as the little walker carefully made her way around Hershel’s deceased family. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rick starting to move, taking a look around at his group. No one else moved a muscle. He turned around and looked to his family, and then to Kei. The girl could see it. She could see the light of whatever hope he had left leave his eyes. He kept his gaze fixed on her, pleading with her, asking her what it was that he should do. He already knew the answer, of course. Everyone knew the answer. He had to do what needed to be done.

Kei wiped her eyes quickly and took a deep, shaky breath. Her dark eyes plead with him, giving him her own approval to go forward and do what needed to be done. His lips curled inward and he nodded. His big blue eyes traveled to the dirt before turning back towards Sophia. His legs moved, and slowly he began closing the gap between him and the little girl.

Kei watched as he yanked his pistol from the holster on his leg and moved in front of Shane, stopping and raising it towards Sophia. The girl kept staggering towards him, hissing and baring her rotted teeth at him. Kei closed her own eyes, waiting for the gunshot to ring in her ears. She bit her lip and took a sharp breath through her nose. Her eyes screwed shut tight as the memory of her own little sister kept popping up in her head. The way her big eyes stared up at her with terror and sadness. The way the tears rolled down her chubby cheeks. She could still hear her piercing scream in her ears, the cry she let out just before her big sister's sword swiped across her little neck. Kei put her hands to her ears and she let out a wail in her throat. As she did so, Rick put his finger on the trigger, giving the little girl one last look before pulling it.


	11. Nebraska: pt. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, pack your shit and get ready to run,” He demanded, leaning in to press his forehead against hers, “Meet me at Fort Benning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I just wanted to give you the following trigger warnings:  
> child abuse  
> verbal abuse  
> suicide
> 
> Just a friendly heads up! And thank you for commenting, Ekhi. I always like reading what you have to say ^.^  
> Enjoy! xx

After what had happened at the barn, a cloud darker than ever seemed to hang over the group. Kei helped with whatever she could, burning the walkers, burying Sophia and Hershel’s wife and step son. Carol didn’t show up to the service the group had put on. Kei didn’t either. After piling on the dirt, she grabbed her sword and ran out into the forest. No one stopped her. She stayed out in the woods, trying her hardest to get rid of the noise in her head. So much gunfire and crying and screaming. It all meshed together into one giant noise, and it was making her lose it. She couldn’t get the images of her family’s slaughter out of her head. She could still feel their blood hitting her face, how warm it was, how loud her little sisters cries were. Her throat clenched and her stomach began to tie in knots.

She let out a yell and violently kicked up a pile of leaves.

“Shhhh!” She heard a voice whisper sharply, “Jesus, you trying to bring walkers down on us?”

Kei’s hand immediately went to her sword’s handle as she whipped around. She looked up into the tree only a foot or so away from her. A tall boy, thin with spindly long legs [wearing](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=62256522) a hoodie and jeans was sitting lazily on the tree branch. His short black hair was poking out from under his maroon beanie, a toothy and confident smirk on his face. Kei immediately knew who it was. She'd recognized that smirk anywhere.  
  
“Sen,” She breathed, her eyes wide at the sight of her best friend sitting before her.

“Yeah, it‘s me,” He whispered, looking down at her with a frown, “What the hell are you doing? We‘re supposed to meet at Fort Benning.”

The young girl released her grip on her sword, letting her hand fall to her side as she looked away.

“You’re not real,” She muttered bitterly.

“I’m real enough,” He protested, “You’ve been lollygagging around here while I’ve been hauling ass to Fort Benning. Remember? We said we’d meet there.”

“I know,” She mumbled, her eyes falling to the dirt.

“So, what the hell are you doing?” He asked.

“I’m…I don’t know,” She admitted, throwing her arms around as she started pacing back and forth, “Carol lost her little girl, Daryl got hurt, and Shane—Shane just massacred Hershel’s entire family, and—”

“Yeah yeah, that’s horrible,” He interrupted, leaping down from the tree. His boots landed on the forest floor with a soft thud. He stood up tall and straightened out his crinkled hoodie, walking forward and cupping Kei‘s face.

“Look, Keiko, shit like this is gonna happen. It’s gonna keep happening," He assured, "In this world, the weak get taken. You’re not weak. Don’t get all emotional and attached to these people. They’ll only slow you down. You have a job, remember?”

“A…Job,” She replied slowly, her legs suddenly feeling numb and heavy like jelly.

“Listen!” He yelled, shaking her face a little to get her attention, “Kei, you have to leave the farm! Fuck them. They handled their own before you came, and they can handle their own after you go. You have to meet me at Fort Benning. If I show up before you do, I won’t be able to wait there forever.”

Kei’s dark eyes traveled to the forest floor. Her arms felt numb, and her heart felt like a lead weight in her chest. Sen held her by the shoulders and shook her again.

“Listen,” He hissed, “You promised your grandfather that you wouldn’t stop fighting for them.”

“So?” She asked, her eyes slowly traveling up to meet his.

“So, pack your shit and get ready to run,” He demanded, leaning in to press his forehead against hers, “Meet me at Fort Benning.”

Kei shut her eyes briefly before opening them again.

Nothing. Sen was gone.

Of course he was. He was never there. He hadn’t been around for a long, long time. She hadn't seen him since the hospital. She took a deep, shaking breath through her nose and wiped her eyes. She kept on walking deeper through the forest, trying to get the noise out of her head.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_“Little bird, little bird, fly through my window,” was something that eight year old Keiko would often hum to herself. She sang it every single day so that she wouldn’t forget. She would hum it while bathing, while eating, while making chalk drawings in the sidewalk. Eight little words was all she could remember from the lullaby her birth mother would sing. It was the last thing she had sang to her before she went and hung herself in the upstairs bedroom. Her father had hung himself only hours before. All she had left of her parents was a[kokeshi](http://www.thejapaneseshop.co.uk/products/Small-Springtime-Kokeshi-Doll.html) doll given to her at birth, and a little tune that she barely remembered the lyrics to._

_“Little bird, little bird, fly through my window,” She muttered, looking down at her wooden doll in fondness. Her dark eyes flicked up to the various nurses and doctors that walked past. Everyone was talking all fast paced and dramatic, much like the hospital shows her foster brother would watch on the weekends. The police kept walking past as well. Tall, surly men dressed in dark colors, often giving her a serious look as they brushed on by. They kept coming in and out of the room next to her— her foster brother’s room. He wasn’t dead yet, they said. He managed to survive. It was a miracle, they called it._

_But it wasn’t a miracle. It was luck._

_It was a mistake that she swore to correct, one way or another._

_“Little bird, little bird, fly through my window…” A pair of heavy footsteps thumped their way out of her brother’s room and stopped right in front of her.[Keiko](http://www.polyvore.com/kai_eight_years_old/set?id=87768343#fans)’s eyes went from her doll to the floor. Brown Venetian loafers and charcoal colored gabardine slacks. It was him._

_“Get up, you little shit,” Her foster dad growled through his teeth. The little girl looked up through her inky black bangs. Her face was utterly deadpan as she stared daggers at him through her hair._

_“I said get up!” he bit. His voice was way more menacing, but still faint so that he didn’t draw attention. The little girl gripped her wooden doll tight as she slid off her seat, her dirty patent leather shoots hitting the sparkly clean tile. One strong hand then gripped her skinny arm and pulled her along into the patient room._

_“Look at him,” He growled at her, “Look at what’s behind that fucking curtain. Look at what you fucking did to my son.”_

_The little girl tilted her head to the side, staring curiously through the sheen curtain that separated her from the body on the hospital bed. Son? He looked more like a burnt slab of jerky, all wrapped up in cloth like a mummy. The boy visibly shook in place, his eyes screwed shut, only huffs and gasps escaping his charred, disfigured lips. Keiko tilted her head to the other side, watching as the boy clung onto to life with all his might._

_“YOU BITCH!!” The man cried, swinging his hand across the little girl’s face, “YOU FUCKING RUINED HIM! YOU RUINED MY FUCKING SON!”_

_He shoved her little body forward and watched as she smacked into the cherry wood desk, knocking over its contents on top. She fell to the hard wood floor with a thud and laid there as pens and pencils rained down on her. Her fingers spread out across the cool office floor. She steadied her breathing, listening, feeling the vibrations of his heavy footsteps against the wood panels. He stepped up to her, hovering over her with an inner sense of triumph._

_“I’m going to make you regret this,” He assured as he started loosening his belt, “I’m going to make every fucking inch of you hurt tonight.”_

_She didn’t move a muscle. She didn’t cry out as he kicked her side, or as he spat on her ash grey dress. He undid his belt and hovered over her, looking down at the little girl sprawled out flat on her stomach. He bent down on one knee and reached out, grabbing a fistful of her long ink colored hair. Keiko reached out as well. Slowly, her hand slid across the floor, her little fingers hooking in a pencil and taking it in under her palm. She felt him pull, lifting her up to her feet. He turned her around to face him, fully expecting teary eyes and a snot filled runny nose. What he got however, was the exact opposite. When he turned her around, he didn’t see a traumatized and teary-eyed eight year old. He saw a little girl with menacing dark eyes and a deadpan look on her face. Blood ran down her nose and smeared on her mouth and chin. She stepped in closer to the man, sending a chill down his spine as she stared right into his eyes without fear. She opened her mouth, and out came a soft and haunting whisper,_

_“…I hate you,”_

_She suddenly lifted her arm and thrust it downward, the father jolting in sudden shock. He tilted his head down and watched as her little hand loosened and let go. There, sticking out in the fleshy area just above his sternum was one of his bright yellow pencils. Blood began dripping, staining his crisp white dress shirt. He looked over at her with wide eyes, staring at a smile as sweet as sugar that appeared on her bloodied mouth._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Kei made her way back towards the farmhouse to grab more clips for her handgun. With all those gunshots being fired earlier, Walkers could've heard it for miles. She figured it’d be good to have it on her for the next few hours, just to be safe. As she approached the farmhouse, she noticed that Rick was gearing up in the Cherokee, tossing a bag into the back seat. She cocked her head slightly and walked up to him,

"Rick, where are you going?" She asked. Rick stepped out of the vehicle, leaning his arm over the door,

"We can't find Hershel anywhere and his truck’s gone,” He answered, “Glenn and I are gonna go out and try to find him in town. We need him right now, Beth is in some form of shock and isn't responding to anyone."

She heard the house door swing open and shut and saw Glenn stepping down the stairs, his shotgun in hand. Kei looked back to Rick, her face firm with determination.

"I wanna go with,” She said. Her eyes narrowed when Rick let out a sigh, his head turning away for a moment.

"I don't know…" He replied lowly, "They might need you around here…”

Glenn walked up and looked over to Kei with a quizzical look on his face.

"You going with?"

"I want to," She answered, looking back over to Rick, "You could use all the help you could get.”

Rick sighed and put his head down, running his hand through his dark hair. Glenn held his arms out and gave the leader a simple shrug,

"Come on, Rick. We might need her,"

The two watched as he put a hand on his hip before lifting his head to look at them.

“Alright, but your wolves stay here," He caved, “Now gear up, we’re leaving in a couple minutes.”

 

The trees went by in a blur. Kei's dark eyes started to droop. She placed her elbow on the window sill and rested her chin on her palm, staring out at the scenery. A good hour had passed by, and she could see the small down in the distance. She heard Glenn shift uncomfortably in his seat and saw him as he looked over his shoulder. He looked over at her with a solemn smile on his face. She smiled back, and the two looked away to turn their attention back to the road.

They finally entered the small town and approached Hatman's Bar. Kei could feel the air growing tense as Rick parked right outside and cut off the engine.

"Rick," Glenn let out suddenly, "I...I know about Lori…her being pregnant. I'm the one that got her those pills."

Kei’s eyes flicked over to the rear view mirror, staring at Rick and his surprisingly neutral expression.

"I figured," He replied simply, looking over at him with a half hearted smile. The Sherriff then opened up his door and slid out as the other two exited the vehicle. Kei pulled out her sword and began scanning the area while Rick and Glenn focused on getting into the bar. Rick shoved open the front door, his gun ready to fire at any threats that decided to cross them. Glenn and Kei looked in over his shoulders. There were no walkers around, to their surprise. There was just one lonesome farmer sitting at the bar, one dusty bottle of Jack Daniel’s beside him.

Once in, Kei quietly shut the door behind them and stared over at Hershel. The man didn’t even bother to look at who had just walked in behind him.

"Hershel?" Rick asked out.

"Who'swith you?" Hershel asked, slurring on his words only slightly.

"Glenn, and Kei," Rick answered. Kei watched as the old farmer tilted his head up and looked to the ceiling.

"Maggie send them?"

"They volunteered," Rick answered as the three of them approached the bar, "They're good like that."

Kei leapt over the bar counter beside Hershel while Rick walked up next to him. Hershel sipped on the small glass in his hand while Glenn kept watch at the door.

"How many you had?" The tall brunette asked, watching as a light smile appeared on the old man's face.

"Not enough…" He scoffed. His words were slurred a bit as the whiskey he drank began to take effect on him. Rick leaned down,

"Let's finish this up at home…"

Hershel didn't say a word and Kei tore her eyes away, looking around at the shelves of liquor. Little to no Vodka and no Wine. Of course. She found a decent sized bottle of Peach schnapps in the corner and shoved it into her backpack. She swiped a couple shot glasses as well, along with an unopened pack of cigarettes that laid tucked away on the bottom shelf.

"Beth collapsed," She heard Rick explain, "She's in some sort of state right now from what happened at the barn. I believe you are too."

Hershel took another sip of his drink,

"Maggie's with her?"

"Yes, but Beth needs you,” Rick assured.

"What could I do? She needs her mother," The old man whimpered, "Or rather to mourn, like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that, I see that now."

They heard something outside. Something fell over, making a noise that made all of them freeze up for a moment. Glenn quickly ran to the door. Rick looked back and walked over to the door as well.

"So what do we do, wait for him to pass out?" Glenn whispered over to the leader.

"We should get him out of here before sundown," Kei replied openly, not bothering to be all discreet about it.

"Just go on without me!" Hershel shouted to them without looking. Rick looked to him,

"I promised Maggie I'd bring you back with us."

Hershel let out a faint laugh, "Like you promised that little girl?"

Kei looked to Rick and watched as he stared at the ground with a sigh. She then looked to the old man as he took another gulp from his glass.

"So this is what you're gonna do, huh?" Rick hissed, walking over to the old man with a bitter look on his face, "Sit here, drink yourself to death while your family is at home worryin’ about you and needin’ your help!"

"Stop tellin me how to care for my family!" Hershel stood from his barstool and walked towards the leader.

"You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing and give you shelter, and you destroyed it all!" He shouted. Rick walked up to the old man and eyed him with fire.

"The world was already in bad shape when we met!" He barked.

"And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!" Hershel argued.

"Well I'm here now! Aren't I?!" Rick argued back.

The two men furiously stared at each other before Hershel suddenly softened up and receded.

"Yes…." He spoke, his voice returning to its soft and natural tone, "Yes you are…"

The old farmer walked back to the barstool and went back to his drink. Kei leapt over the bar and walked up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder with Rick right beside her.

"Hershel, come with us," She urged softly, "Beth needs you right--"

Hershel held up his arm and brushed her hand away,

"I didn't want to believe you!” He let out, a brief sense of bitterness in his voice, “Any of you, that there was no cure, that these people were dead, and I chose not to believe that! But when Shane shot Lou in the chest, and she just kept comin‘, I knew what an ass I've been. Annette was gone long ago, and I was just feedin her rotted corpse! That's when I knew there was no hope…”

Kei took a step back as Hershel fiddled with the glass in his hand. He turned his attention back over to Rick, his eyes dull and glazed over with sadness.

"And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on all your faces…I knew you all knew it too…there is no hope, and you know it now. There is no hope for any of us."

Hershel moved back to his glass. Kei sighed and turned around, giving up on her convincing and going back to looking for a more stronger form of alcohol. She leapt back over the bar and found a bottle of Spiced Rum when she heard Rick grunt,

"Look, I'm not doing this anymore! Cleaning up after you…" He hissed, "You know what the truth is? Nothing has changed! Death is death, it's always been there. Whether it's from heart attack, cancer, or a Walker, what's the difference? You didn't think it was hopeless before did you?!"

Kei looked over at Glenn, and the two looked over at the lean man as he continued to speak with fervor.

"There's people back home who need us to hold onto that hope, even if we don't believe it ourselves!” He argued, “This isn't about what we believe!"

There was a long pause between the four after Rick’s final words. Hershel sighed and grabbed his glass, swirling it around and drinking the rest of it in one swig. When he set the glass down and stood to his feet, Kei smiled lightly. Just as she was about to leap back over the bar, the front door suddenly swung wide open. Everyone turned around sharply and the girl’s hand instantly flew to the handle of her sword. Light streamed through and beamed upon two silhouetted figures in the doorway.

"Son of a bitch,” A male’s voice scoffed, “They're alive."

Kei's eyes widened when she saw two living men standing there, staring back at them with smiles on their faces.


	12. Nebraska: pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This place is crawling with Walkers!" Kei argued.
> 
> "We can't leave him!" Rick let out.

The four survivors stared over at the men in awe. Time seemed to stand still. They had found people, two of them. The taller and more built man had scruffy facial hair and wore an old Stafford Sharks shirt. His counterpart, who was shorter and more on the heavier side, stood with a newsie hat on his head and a shotgun tossed over his shoulder. He had beady eyes that stared back in shock at the set of new and living faces.

"Son of a bitch… they're alive," The taller man scoffed. He looked back at his comrade with an amused smile. Slowly, they took a few steps further into the bar, the larger man shutting the doors behind him. Kei looked over to Rick. His jaw was tight and apprehensive. No words were spoken between the two groups. Kei looked back over to Glenn. He shook his head and shrugged, not knowing what to say or do.

"What'll you have?" Rick asked, breaking the silence. Kei and Glenn looked to the men. The taller one sat at a table, the fatter one sitting next to Hershel at the other bar.

"How bout a shot of the good stuff, huh?" The taller one offered, "Got any whiskey?"

Rick nodded and turned, seeing Kei who had already pulled the bottle out from behind the bar. She set out six shot glasses and handed the bottle over. He took it with a nod and uncorked it, tipping it over and beginning to pour into each shot glass.

"My name's Dave," The taller man spoke, a faint jersey accent in his voice, "That scrawny lookin’ douchebag over there is Tony."

"Eat me, Dave," Tony scoffed.

"Hey, maybe someday I will," Dave warned with a smirk.

Kei watched closely as they conversed with desirable humor back and forth. They’ve been together for a while, she deduced, just them two. Perhaps it was still just the two of them, she thought; or they were with a larger group now, and they were sent to go scouting.

"We met on the 995 comin out of Philly," Dave explained with a sigh, "What a damn shit show that was."

There was still a bit of apprehension on Rick's side, but Glenn smiled and tried his best to ignore the tension,

"I'm Glenn," He introduced with a half wave and a smile, "It's nice to finally meet some new people."

"Rick Grimes," Their leader spoke as he continued pouring shots for everyone. Seeing that he missed Hershel, Dave was the first to acknowledge it,

"How bout you pal, have one?" He asked the old man on the barstool.

"I just quit," The old farmer answered.

"You got a unique sense of timing my friend," Dave said with a smile and a faint laugh.

"His name's Hershel," Rick explained, "He lost people today, a lot of them."

"Well, I’m truly sorry to hear that," Dave replied, holding up his shot glass, "To better days and new friends, and to our dead. May they be in a better place…"

The four men took their shots, Kei ignoring hers completely. She eyed the men up and down. Her nose wrinkled in distrust. Dave dropped his glass to the table and then looked over at her. His eyes scanned her up and down, smiling and definitely liking what he saw.

"And how bout you, hun. Got a name?"

She didn't answer. She merely stared, her dark eyes boring into his own. She didn't trust him one bit, and he could see that.

"Her name's Kei," Glenn answered for her.

 Dave's smile grew bigger. He scoffed lightly and nodded his head to her.

"Well it's nice to meet you there, Kei. Don’t drink either?"

Again, she didn't reply. She just kept her cold look on him the entire time. Dave didn't seem the least bit phased by it. If anything, he found it cute, and even more appealing. He always favored the more dark and mysterious type.

"Alrighty, just tryin to make friendly small talk," He reached over to pour himself another glass when he noticed Rick staring at the pistol rested on his hip. He pulled it out instead and looked at it with a smile,

"Not bad, huh?"

Kei's dark eyes darted over to Tony. He was staring over at her for far too long, and with a far-too familiar look in his eyes. Her lips pursed into a thin line, and she stared at him dangerously. Her look was viscious, and it warned him not to try anything.

"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia," Rick mentioned, his voice getting Kei’s attention once more.

"Feels like we’re a long way from anywhere," Dave sighed.

"What drove you south?" The Sherriff asked, taking another sip from his shot.

"Well I can tell ya it wasn't the weather," Dave griped, "I must've dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone down here."

"I wish…" Tony scoffed, giving the men a slight laugh.

"At first it was D.C.," Dave explained, "I heard there might be some kind of refugee camp, but the roads were so jammed, we never even got close. We decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, and keep haulin ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor about a way out of this thing."

"One guy said that there was the coast guard, sitting down in the golf, sending ferries to the islands," Tony spoke.

"The latest was a railyard in Montgomery,” Dave griped with a shake of his head, “It's running trains to the middle of the country; Kansas, Nebraska…"

"Nebraska?" Glenn quoted.

"Low population, lots of guns," Tony explained. 

"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" Dave asked, watching as Glenn shook his head no, "A reason why they call 'em 'flyover' states." 

Tony gave the man an earnest laugh while Rick merely smiled and took another shot of alcohol. Kei continued to watch the two men as they exchanged knowing glances with each other, having their own mental conversation. Tony was pressing Dave to ask something, something vital. Dave's Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes looking over to the group.

"How about you guys?" He inquired, looking to each member with a faint and friendly smile on his face.

"Fort Benning eventually," Rick stated simply. The leader furrowed as the scruffy haired man sighed and shook his head,

"Hate to piss in your corn flakes there, officer, but we ran across a grunt stationed at Benning. Said the place was overrun by lame brains,"

Kei's eyebrows furrowed together. Her heart suddenly dropped deep into to the pit of her stomach.

"W-Wait…Fort Benning is gone? Are you for real?" Glenn asked nervously. Dave nodded.

"Sadly, I am," He admitted, "Ugly truth is...There is no way out of this mess. Just keep goin from one pipe dream to the next, prayin' one of these mindless freaks don't grab a hold of you while you sleep—"

"If you sleep." Tony added.

Kei tuned them out for a second, trying to comprehend what Dave had said. Fort Benning was gone. Maybe Sen got out. Maybe he saw there were too many of them and he moved. Where did he go, though? Where did the people in charge go? If they moved, where would they go?

The two men shared one final glance before Dave finally got to what he had been waiting to ask,

"It don't look like none of you are hangin your hats here, you holed up somewhere else?"

Kei snapped out of her thoughts and looked to Rick. The man closed his eyes, letting his head hang low.

"Not really,"

"Those your cars out there?" Dave asked. Glenn nodded lightly,

"Yeah...why?"

"We're uh, we’re livin in ours," The man answered slowly, "Yours are kinda...empty, clean. Where's all your gear?"

"We're with a larger group," Hershel spoke, "Out scouting, thought we could use a drink."

The old farmer swayed in his seat as he stared at Dave. The man smiled brightly back at him.

"A drink? Hershel, I thought you quit!" He teased.

Kei was starting to get frustrated. Fort Benning was gone, her plans had gotten shot to shit and these two idiots were trying to impose on their group. Here they were, clearly trying to keep the two of them out of their business, and they just kept trying to push themselves in. She just wanted to leave and get back to Beth and the others. She didn’t have time for this!

"Well we're thinkin about settin up around here,” Dave mentioned, “Is it safe?"

"It can be," Glenn reasoned, "Well, I've only killed a couple Walkers around here."

"Walkers? That what you call them?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck, "Oh, that's good. I like that better than lame brains."

There was another moment of awkward silence before Dave got back to business. He turned his head and stared over at Rick,

"So what, so what you guys set up on the outskirts or something? A new development?"

Tony lifted his large self off the barstool and walked over to the wall of the room, passing Kei in the process,

"Ya got a trailer park or somethin?” He asked, “Farm?"

It wasn't intentional, but Glenn, Hershel, and Kei all shifted at the same time.

"Ol McDonald had a farm…" Dave sang as he trailed off, looking over at Tony. The large man laughed lightly, unzipped his pants, and started to pee on the wall. Dave looked back to Rick, a sudden glint in his eye. He caught on quick.

"You got a farm?"

Rick furrowed when heard the trickling and looked over at Tony in disgust. Kei did as well, slightly scrunching her nose and looking away.

"Is it safe?" She heard Dave ask out.

"It's gotta be,” Tony spoke.

“You got food, water?" Dave inquired.

"You got any more cooze?" Tony asked as he zipped himself up, "Haven't had a piece of ass in weeks."

The group looked over at him as he walked back over to the bar and stepped closer to Kei. Dave rubbed his forehead with an agitated sigh, shaking his head,

"Listen, pardon my friend here. These city kids, they have no tact, no disrespect. So Glenn, Kei—"

"We've said enough," Rick cut off, firmly ending Dave's pointless inquiry.

"Well hang on a second, this farm, it sounds nice," Dave chirped, "Don't it sound nice, Tony?"

"Yeah, real sweet," The large man cooed.

"How bout a little southern hospitality, huh?" Dave suggested, "We got a few buddies back at camp and we’re havin a real hard time. I can't see why you can't make room for a few more. We could pool our resources, our manpower-"

"Look, I'm sorry but that's not an option," Rick said firmly, striking the two men down once more. Dave looked to the ground and fiddled with his fingers.

"…Doesn't sound like it'd be a problem…" He muttered.

Rick looked directly at the man and shook his head.

"We can't take in anymore,"

Dave laughed to himself and rubbed his head,

"You guys are something else…" He sighed, "I mean, I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for, too."

"We don't know anything about you," Rick remarked.

"That's true… you don't know anything about us," Dave replied solemnly, "You don't what we had to go through out there, the things we've had to do...I bet you've had to do some of those things yourself, am I right?...Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same…So come on let's...Let's take a nice friendly hay ride to this farm to we'll get to know each other."

"Yeah," Tony spoke, "Get to know each other."

Kei felt a hand trail down her lower back and onto her right cheek. Her dark eyes widened and her face went dark. She jerked her hand around, slamming her fist into his pudgy cheek and causing him to tumble back. As he flew back and hit the wall, she swiftly reached back and pulled her sword out, pressing the tip of her blade at his throat.

Rick whipped out his pistol as well and Tony growled, pulling up his shotgun and aiming it at her.

"Fuckin' bitch!!" He spat.

Kei pressed the blade even further and stared at him viciously. Her face was almost animal like with her upper lip trembling and her teeth flaring. Glenn stared at her in complete shock. She looked positively feral, like a wolf.

"That’s enough! Back off, right now!" Rick shouted at Tony, making him look over at the cop. Dave jumped up and put up his hands,

"Woah, woah, woah, woah!" He called out calmly, "Just relax here…"

Kei let out a deep breath through her nose, but kept her sword to the man‘s throat. There was nothing she hated more than a man touching her and looking at her like some fuck toy. She got enough of that in her childhood, and those sick men who tried to lay a hand on her got what they deserved. She didn't take it from them then, and sure as hell wasn't going to take it from this waste of space now.

"Take it easy… nobody's killing anybody," Dave said in a surprisingly chill tone, “Nobody’s shootin’ anybody, right Rick?”

Rick put his pistol back in his holster, his jaw tense and his body on edge,

"Don't touch her again," He warned.

"Or what, cheif?" Tony seethed at him. Rick merely ignored him and looked at the girl with the Katana still pressed up to the man's fleshy neck.

"Kei, put your sword away," He spoke, his harsh tone softening when the girl didn‘t comply right away, “Kei, your sword…”

Kei's dark eyes looked over at him, his commanding tone the only thing managing to get past the noise in her head. With one last menacing glance at Tony, she lowered her sword and swiftly re-sheathed it in one fluid motion. She felt a hand on her arm and saw Glenn tugging at it. He pulled her to the other side of him, and huddling close to her and eyeing Tony at the same time.

Dave jumped up and over the bar, turning back towards Rick. He heard Tony reach for his gun and Rick's hand hovered over the holster of his pistol, staring menacingly at Dave. Dave put his hands up and slowly pulled out his own pistol, putting it down on the bar with a smile,

"We're just friends having a drink… that's all," He assured, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "Now, where's the good stuff, huh? Good stuff, good stuff, good stuff, let's see…"

He leaned under the bar and Rick's hand swiftly landed on his pistol's grip. Dave took notice with a smile and pulled up another bottle of tequila.

"Hey, look at that…. That'll work,"

He twisted off the cap and began pouring his drink.

"You gotta understand," He reasoned, "We can't stay out there. You know what it's like."

"Yeah, I do," Rick spoke, his words cold and slow, "But the farm is too crowded as it is. I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep lookin."

Dave set the bottle down on the counter and hung his head.

“Keep looking,” He quoted, lifting his head to look at the officer, "Where do you suggest we do that?"

"I don't know," Rick answered with a shake of his head, "I hear Nebraska's nice…"

Dave only laughed at his response and stepped back from the bar a bit. He shook his head lightly, a smile on his face.

"Nebraska," He scoffed, "This guy…"

Dave suddenly jumped for the pistol, but his hand never made it. Rick fired a precise shot to the guy's neck, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. He turned just as Tony readied his shotgun and fired once into the man's shoulder. Tony tumbled backwards and hit the wall as Rick fired one more bullet into the man’s stomach. The large man slid to the ground and toppled over onto the floor. Rick walked up and pointed his weapon out, sending another bullet through the man's brain without hesitation.

Kei's ears rang as she stared down at the large man. He had fallen in his own puddle of urine. Rick walked towards him and stared down at the body, Hershel walking up behind him. Rick turned and looked to Glenn and Kei, Glenn refusing to look at him, and Kei only staring expressionlessly down at the body.

Daytime slowly turned to night as the moonlight poured through the windows of the bar. Kei and Glenn walked over to Rick and he looked over at them, a strange look in his eye.

"We should probably get out of here," She suggested in a low voice. Rick looked over to the old farmer.

"Hershel?"

There was no debate from him as he looked down to the floor. The leader looked to Glenn and Glenn nodded at him reassuringly,

"She's right, we should head back now before it gets too late..."

Kei headed for the door while Rick leaned down and grabbed the guns off of Tony's body. Glenn went to get the pistol from Dave's. The girl peeked out the windows to see if there were any signs of Walkers, but something else completely different caught her eye.

"Car! Car!" She hissed.

A sudden flash of light shone through the windows and the group slid down the front of the store, sitting on the ground. Kei leaned up and glanced out the window, seeing three men stepping out of the vehicle,

"There's three of them," She whispered to Rick sitting next to her. They heard voices outside the door, calling out the names of Dave and Tony as they walked around the area. Three seperate shadows danced among the windows of the bar as they moved about. Kei leaned her head back against the wall.

"What’s the plan?" She asked.

"We have to get to the truck and get out of here while we can," Hershel spoke. Rick took a deep breath and looked down. After several minutes had passed, Kei slowly looked back out the window, seeing no one but still hearing their voices. Rick tugged on Kei's arm and he nodded towards Glenn and Hershel. They crouched down and huddled in a circle,

"Why won't they leave?!" Glenn whispered desperately.

"Would you?" Hershel asked back.

"We can't sit here any longer," Kei whispered firmly. Rick gave her a light nod, looking over to Glenn and Hershel,

"Let's head out the back and make a run for the car,"

The four rose to their feet, but just as they did, gunshots cracked through the air. They jumped back to their original spaces, keeping their backs pressed against the wall. Kei looked out the window and saw them regrouping near the bar, hearing their voices once more, but louder.

"They're coming,” She whispered sharply. She quickly sat back down and pulled out her handgun. The four of them heard the enemy's footsteps coming in close. Everyone readied their weapons. Just as the door was beginning to open, Glenn suddenly dove for it and slammed the door back shut. The four of them could hear someone stepping back, no doubt in shock.

"Someone pushed that shut,” They heard one of the guys say, “There's someone in there!"

Kei screwed her eyes shut, mentally swearing at herself.

"Hey, is someone in there?!" She heard another man yell, "If someone's in there, we don't want no trouble! We're just lookin for our friends, Dave and Tony."

The three looked over to the bodies with wide eyes and racing hearts. They were in for it now.

"We don't want to cause any trouble," The man repeated, "We're just looking for our friends! If something happened to them, just tell us! This place is crawling with corpses! If you didn't get us killed, we'd appreciate it!"

Kei turned and saw the strain on Rick's face as he struggled to find something to say or do. He raised his head, lying against the wall.

"They drew on us!" His voice echoed through the bar. Hershel looked to Rick in dread as the men outside all whispered rapidly amongst each other.

"Dave and Tony in there?!" One man yelled, "They alive?!"

"No," Rick admitted, his voice shaking a little. Hushed voices rapidly conversed with each other. The men were refusing to leave now; all because of what they had done to their two best men.

"Your friends drew on us!" Rick repeated, "They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people! Dumb things, we wish we didn't have to but it’s like that now, you know that! So let's just chop it up to what it was! Wrong place, wrong-!"

Gunshots shattered the windows above their heads. Kei let out a yelp and put up her hands for protection. Rick jumped up and fired his pistol,

"Get out of here!" He shouted out. Glenn and Kei jumped to their feet, running to the back of the bar. Glenn hid behind a piano and Kei leapt over the bar, landing on the ground flat as Rick and the enemy’s gunshots went in sync with each other. She pulled back the slide on her gun, making sure it was loaded before putting her finger on the trigger.

Just as she was about to get up and retaliate, the gunfire finally stopped. Kei slowly sat back up, hearing the eerie silence around her. She peeked her head over the side of the bar, sitting up on her knees, waiting for something else to happen. She saw Rick emptying his gun and reloading it,

"We all know this is not gonna end well!" He shouted, his chest rising and falling heavily, "There's nothing in it for any of us! You guys just back off, and no one else gets hurt!"

Kei turned when she heard something fall over in the back. It sounded like a trash bin getting knocked over. Her heart began to race a mile a minute. She heard footsteps and saw Glenn running to the back door, his gun ready in his hands. Kei jumped up as well, watching his back as he opened up the door slowly, peering in through the darkness of the room. Glenn raised his gun and Kei put hers above his shoulder as he moved down the steps, hesitating once he heard a painfully loud creak come from the wood.

The two finally made it to the floor and began scanning the room. It was so cold, dark and it gave Kei's skin goose bumps. Glenn stopped in his tracks, making Kei almost bump into him. She heard soft squeaks coming from the door at the end and noticed the door handle jiggling and turning. A shadow appeared through the fogged glass window, and before she could react, Glenn raised his gun and fired a shot. Kei flinched and covered her ears as the glass exploded, most of it falling to the ground in shambles.

The two young adults both turned when they heard Rick's frantic voice calling out their names. Glenn opened his mouth,

"We're alright!” He called back, “We're alright…"

He looked to Kei. She took a deep breath and let it out shakily, nodding her head at him.

"I’m okay …" She whispered out. He nodded and the two ran to opposite sides of the door, Glenn's breathing was erratic as he held his gun up to high. Kei carefully looked out the window, and then to over Glenn, shaking her head and signaling that there wasn’t a body outside the door. Glenn raised his gun and pointed it at the door as his hand neared the handle to open it. She then saw a body out of the corner of her eye. She turned around sharply to see Hershel approaching. He grabbed onto Glenn's shoulder, frightening him and causing him to whip around, pointing his gun at the farmer. Hershel slowly pushed the barrel away and Glenn brought it to his chest.

"Sorry… sorry…" He breathed, closing his eyes and trying to slow his racing heartbeat.

"Rick wants you to try for the car…." Hershel whispered.

"Try?!" Glenn hissed.

"Try, _and succeed_ ," Hershel added with firm determination, "We're both here to cover you."

"That's a great plan…" The dark haired boy stated sarcastically. He took one last, large breath, and headed to the door. Kei and Hershel exchanged glances before raising their guns and prepared for cover. Glenn slowly opened up the door and moved down the steps, Hershel and Kei standing in the doorway above him. Glenn carefully moved about, taking slow and cautious steps as he neared the dumpster. He leaned further out and looked for the car, scanning his surroundings for dangers at the same time.

A gunshot suddenly came through from the left and Glenn fell to the ground. Hershel moved around Kei and shot once at the culprit, sending him to the grass with a bullet to his chest. Kei whipped around and looked towards the dumpster, only seeing Glenn's denim clad legs sticking out. He didn't move a muscle.

"Glenn!" She whispered loudly, but no response. Groans and cries of pain came spilling out from the man on the grass. She heard footsteps rush up behind her and turned around, seeing Rick fast approaching,

"What happened?!” He asked in a harsh whisper.

"He fired…” Hershel explained quietly, "Must've hit Glenn, he's behind the dumpster…"

Rick shoved the door back open and carefully stepped out, his pistol in one hand and Tony's shotgun in the other. He moved slowly towards the dumpster as Hershel and Kei kept watch. More pained wails and loud cries came from the man on the grass. Kei and the farmer kept their eyes locked on the dumpster, waiting for some sign of life as Rick ducked down into the space next to Glenn.

Kei's heart and soul let out the biggest sigh of relief when the two men popped out.  However it was cut short when two more gunshots were fired, making the two disappear behind the dumpster once more. Kei looked up at saw a man on the roof of a building across the street. A rifle was in his hands, and it was pointing right at them. Kei raised her gun with one hand, put him in her sights, and fired twice. He managed to duck out of the way just in time.

Kei furrowed when she heard the sound of an enginge's roar growing louder by the second. A white truck pulled up and came to a screeching halt under the building the boy was standing on,

"Let's get outta here!" The man in the car yelled, "Roamers all over the place! Hurry up! We gotta get outta here!"

"What about Sean!?" The boy on the roof yelled out.

"They shot him, we gotta go!" The man in the car yelled back, "Roamers are everywhere! Jump!"

The younger man did what he was told and ran for it. He got to the edge and jumped off the roof of the building, trying to make it to the other. His feet slipped out from under him and he went tumbling off. He landed with a thud, a blood curdling cry, and shouts for help. The driver didn't leave his truck. He just kep apologizing over and over, saying that he had to go. He hit the gas pedal and the truck barreled down the road, leaving his comrade for the walkers.

The pleading cries of the wounded boy made Kei's skin crawl. She saw Rick run off and Glenn suddenly jumped up,

"Hershel! Kei!"

Hisses and groans suddenly rung in the air. They turned and saw Walkers emerging from the tree line, moving towards them quickly. They staggered towards the wounded man lying helplessly on the ground. He kept screaming and crying for help, and the dead were answering his calls. A small group of walkers began crowding around him. They crouched down and began tearing at his flesh, earning several tortuous cries of pain from their living meal. Hershel held his gun forward and pulled trigger, putting one of the Walkers out of their misery. He aimed again, but refrained from firing when steely fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"Don't!" Kei whispered harshly, "We can't save him, we have to go!" She jumped out of the doorway and kept her gun raised as Hershel grunted and followed suit. They moved towards the street and found Glenn waiting anxiously in the middle.

"The gunfire must have attracted the Walkers," She spoke out, turning every which way to scan for any more oncoming enemies.

"Where's Rick?!" Hershel asked as he sprinted for the driver's side of his truck.

"H-He went across!" Glenn answered, gripping his shotgun nervously as he pointed over to the Alley across the street. Hershel looked to him and then over to the alley between the drug store and the dentist office. Sure enough, Rick was standing right outside the fence. 

"Well hell we can't leave without him!" He grunted, "Rick!"

"Rick!" Glenn called out.

Hershel ran across the street, Glenn and Kei following suit. The boy’s painful cries began to attract more Walkers as Rick looked at him helplessly. The boy, looking no older than 17, had fallen off the roof, his leg landing straight onto a spike on the fence. The spike had gone clean through and stuck out of the boy's leg, making him writhe and howl in pain.

"Rick, we have to go!" Kei plead while Hershel placed a hand on the boy's knee,

"We have to go son, I'm sorry,"

"No, no, no! Please don't leave me!" The boy cried as he leaned up and stared down at the group.

"We have to go!" Hershel urged.

"We can't!" Rick bit back. Glenn pointed over to the boy,

"He was just shooting at us!"

"He's a kid!" Rick barked.

"This place is crawling with Walkers!" Kei argued.

"We can't leave him!" Rick let out.

Hershel leaned over and studied the wound, making a quick medical verdict.

"The fence went clean through," He assessed, "There's no way we can get leg off in one piece!"

Hershel moved the leg and the boy slammed against the dumpsters with unbearable pain, screaming bloody murder. Rick rushed up to him and pressed his pistol to the boy's chest.

"Shut up! Shut up or I will shoot you!" He shouted. Hershel pulled him aside. Kei jumped up on a recycling bin and pointed her handgun down at the hysteric boy,

"Shut the hell up!" She hissed, "I swear to god if you don't-"

He continued to cry out and struggle against the dumpster,

"Shut up!" Glenn growled and grabbed his leg. The boy cried out incredibly loud and Kei shot a nasty look at him,

"Glenn!"

"I'm sorry! Sorry! Just—please be quiet!" He plead meekly. Kei looked down at the helpless boy through his tear stained face.

"Listen I know it hurts, but you have to be quiet!" She urged.

"I can't, I can't!" He whined.

"I don't wanna see anymore killing," Hershel spoke out as he pointed to the boy, "But this is cruel!"

"Can't we just take the leg off!?" Glenn asked.

Hearing Glenn's words, both the boy and Kei looked over at him like he was insane. Rick and Hershel stared at him like he was a genius.

"That hatchet still in the car?" Rick asked.

Glenn shook his head and the boy shot up with wide eyes.

"No no no no, dont--don't! Please don't cut my leg off!" The boy yelped.

Rick ignored him and yanked out his knife.

"Will this cut through the bone?!"

"I'll have to sever the ligaments below the kneecap, cut above the tibia," Hershel spoke, "He's going to lose his lower leg."

The boy fell back and began whimpering and crying in hysterics. The four survivors ignored his wails, Hershel speaking hurriedly as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

"When we get clear of here, we're gonna have to find some tinder," He informed, "We need to cauterize the wound so he doesn't bleed out! "

"Alright. No choice, hurry up!" Rick demanded, "Kei, help me hold him down!"

Rick slammed the boy's torso back against the dumpster and Kei put her hands down on his chest, putting all her weight against him. Hershel tied his shirt tightly around the boy’s leg to cut off circulation. The boy cried out violently and Glenn moved away from them, seeing a large horde approaching up ahead,

"Guys, Walkers!"

Kei slammed her hand down on the boy’s mouth to muffle his cries. She perked up when she heard Glenn's shotgun go off,

"Oh God, they're everywhere!" She heard Rick groan beside her. The leader let go of the boy and walked down the alleyway, seeing more coming in their direction. He raised his pistol and Kei watched as he began to fire,

"How’re we doing over there, Hershel?!" She asked out, turning her head to look back at the old man.

"I need more hands!" He exclaimed.

The farmer readied the knife and the boy shot up from Kei's grasp,

"Please don't cut my leg off!" He begged.

"Lie down!" She demanded. She slammed him down on the dumpster, sitting on his stomach and putting her hands down on his mouth.

"Come on we gotta go! We’re almost out of ammo!" Glenn yelled.

"Hershel, do it now!" Rick barked.

Kei looked up to see Rick retreating back towards the fence as he became overwhelmed by Walkers. The boy flailed under Kei and she shoved her hands down harder on his mouth. She struggled to keep him secure, but turned her head when she heard Rick and Hershel argue,

"Hershel! Do it!!" Rick yelled.

"There's no time!" Hershel yelled back, looking down at the boy with flustered eyes, “I’m sorry, but we have to go!”

"Kei, come on!" Glenn screamed.

Without missing a beat, Kei let go of the boy and jumped up and off the dumpster, following after Rick as Hershel ran for his truck.

"No! No! Please don't leave me here!" The boy cried out, "Please! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!"  Kei stopped, looking back at him as Rick and Hershel bickered rapidly at each other beside her. Glenn was yelling at the two from the truck, begging for them to get in while the boy on the fence wailed and screamed for his life. Kei screwed her eyes shut for a minute as a headache began pulsing through her brain. So much noise. It all meshed together in her mind and it made her heart race and her lips twitch and she just wanted it all to stop for one fucking minute!

The girl threw her hands up and yelled out "SOMEONE JUST TAKE IT THE FUCK OFF!" over the three men and their bickering. Hershel and Glenn turned around and looked at her with wide eyes. Rick, on the other hand, obliged without a second thought. He rushed over to the boy, grabbed his leg, and violently jerked it upwards, ripping it up and off the metal fence.


	13. It Was Only a Rain Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Gotcha,” She giggled, smiling brightly at his confused expression. He put his palm to his face and began rubbing his nose.
> 
> “Do that again and I’ll toss yer ass outside,” He warned.

_"You think it’s wise? The court sendin’ a 16 year old to a place like this?” The prison guard to her left asked out. The three of them walked down one of West Georgia’s many corridors. Prisoners on either side were hooting and hollering from their cells as the small girl in blue prison garb walked forward. She kept her head low and her voice silent as they trudged along, ignoring the men as they made lewd gestures with their mouths and hands at her. The prison guard to her right placed one hand in his pocket as they walked along, looking over to his partner on the left._

_“She‘s earned her place bein’ up here,” He spoke, “Just last year, over at Women’s Correctional, she beat her cellmate within an inch of her life. Six months ago she started a fire and broke out of there with a number of prisoners. And not to mention the family that fostered her, that guy and that burned son of his? They both disappeared around that time._ _She’s the court’s number one suspect._ _”_

_“Well christ,” The guard to the left breathed, “And they want her here? With all these guys? They'll eat her alive! A lot of 'em have done much worse than arson. They ain't afraid of some escapee, let alone a female one. The court's just beggin for her to get hurt."_

_“Oh we ain’t gotta worry about her,” The guard to her right assured._

_She smirked. Perking up suddenly as one inmate to her right whistled loudly and smacked his lips at her._

_“Hey sweetheart, how much fer a lick of that Asian cunt a’yers?” He growled, giving a look all too familiar to the girl. Kei turned her head and looked to the large man with the tattoo on the side of his head. His large arms were hanging out through the cell bars, and his fingers were itching to get a good grab at her. She stepped to the side and walked closer to his cell, smiling sweetly at the older inmate as he reached out to grab her._

_The prison guard on the left stepped forward to intervene, but his partner put an arm out and stopped him._

_Just as the inmate was about to touch her, she grabbed his hands firmly and swung her body up and over. Twisting his wrists as she skillfully pulled an aerial cartwheel, the bones in both let out a loud and sickening crack. She planted her feet expertly on the floor and let go of his large man paws, listening to the sounds of his howls and swears as she collected herself. She walked on without a word, keeping her cuffed wrists in front of her in obedience. The two prison guards continued down the hall with her, muttering to each other as the other inmates shouted and swore around them._

_“It’s the men we need to be lookin’ out for,” She heard the guard to her right say, “They cross her, they‘re good as dead…”_

 

Kei opened up her eyes, blinking and looking outside. The morning sun had peeked out over the trees, shining its light on half of the open fields. She rubbed her eyes and sat up before rubbing her forehead lightly. The window wasn’t exactly the best pillow in the world.  She stretched her arms with a yawn and looked to her right. The boy, now blindfolded with a strip of cloth was laying next to her, snoring while his head hung back and mouth slightly ajar. Glenn, Rick, and Hershel were already wide awake, looking ahead at the long and empty road. The soft thrum of the car’s engine and the boy’s ragged snoring broke the tense silence that loomed inside the truck.

“What are we gonna tell the group?” Glenn asked lowly.

“How do think they’ll handle it?” Hershel asked, “Bringing in an outsider, especially after what his own group did to us back there.”

Rick turned his head towards Hershel before turning back to look at the road.

“I’ll deal with them,” He assured, “We’ll sit down for a meeting and figure somethin out. For now, let’s just focus on getting back and getting cleaned up.”

Kei leaned against the window and looked out towards the fields as they passed by. She began to get lost in her thoughts. Fort Benning was gone. She had missed it. Walkers had come and taken what was supposed to be hers. Sen was gone. Her best friend in the entire world, the reason why she had kept fighting in the first place, was gone. If he were still alive, where on earth would he go? Where would she even start looking? Hell, maybe he never even made it past the hospital. He could’ve gotten eaten for all she knew. He could have turned long ago…

She sat up and ran a hand through her long hair. She looked out the windsheild, seeing the farm fast approaching as Rick sped into the long driveway.

She cracked open the car window, feeling the cool morning air brush against her sweaty skin. Her hair whipped around and blew from her face. She brushed a few stray strands behind her ear, her eyes narrowing when she saw the group all beginning to crowd out in front of the farmhouse. She turned and exchanged a quick glance with Glenn before they both leaned over the back of the seat. They grabbed their belongings and quietly slid over to their respective doors, being careful not to disturb Randall in the process.

The truck came to a halt as they officially approached their destination. Rick was the first to open his door, stepping out as Lori and Carl ran to him. The two embraced him in a tight and desperate hug. Kei stepped out next, her Katana slung over her shoulder. She saw Maggie run to Glenn with an audible "Thank god," and take him into a hug; passing Hershel completely. The old farmer glanced at his daughter breifly before looking back to the farmhouse, rolling his sleeves up in the process.

"Patricia, ready the shed for surgery," He demanded.

Lori and the other's eyes looked towards Rick, Kei, and Glenn. None of them said a word. Kei merely looked down and moved her way past them. Daryl watched her movements, finding it weird that she didn't bother to look up at him or acknowledge his existence. He watched as she stalked over to the porch and disappeared into the house. His eyes narrowed slightly. His body moved to go after her, but T-Dog's voice caused him to stop.

"Who the hell is that?!"

The man pointed and guided everyone's gaze over to the unfamiliar body sitting in the truck. He was still blindfolded and passed out in the back seat. Glenn looked to everyone, his hands in his pockets.

"That's Randall,"

  
Kei moved through the house sluggishly and hauled herself upstairs. Her fatigued legs felt like lead weights as she trudged up the steps. It took a bit of strength and an equal amount of will power, but she finally reached the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the sink, staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a wreck, her dark eyes tired and baggy from a long night and little sleep in the truck.

She slowly stripped her clothes off, peeling the dirty cloth from her skin and tossing it to the floor. Looking down, she examined the dried blood that seeped through her crumpled shirt and pants, remembering all the blood that managed to get on her while she was in the process getting Randall to sit still.

She walked towards the shower/tub and grabbed the handle, turning the water on hot. Goosebumps gathered on her skin when she felt the hot steam begin to form in the small room. She stepped into the tub, closed the curtain, and dipped down into the hot water. Shivering as the warmth consumed her.

She took a large sigh of relief and dipped her head under the water, her headache and fatigue seeming to vanish as her muscles began to relax. She kept her eyes closed as she listened to the sound of water gently rippling against the edges of the tub. She looked up. The ceiling rippled and shifted above her. Seeing it reminded her of the lake, and the little halo of light that rippled and glittered whenever she looked up at the sun from underwater. She missed that lake. She missed those summer days in Japan with Sen and Miho. She missed swimming with them while the rest of her family ate lunch on the shore. She missed sitting under the maple tree eating ice cream with Sen, the both of them trying to cool off after a long day of training in the sun.

She heard a soft knock ringing throughout the tub. A muffled voice rang out, speaking words that she couldn’t make out through the water. She shifted and sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking over to the bathroom door. Maggie was in the doorway with a concerned look on her face.

“You alright?” She asked softly, “You’ve been in here for a while now.”

Kei wiped her eyes some more and nodded with a smile.

“Fine,” She breathed, “I’m fine.”

“Well...everyone’s downstairs,” The brunette announced, “Placed a fresh set of your clothes on the hamper.”

The dark haired girl nodded lightly and watched as Maggie slipped away, shutting the bathroom door behind her. She looked back towards the water and brought her knobby knees up to her chest. She chewed on the inside of her lip in thought, rocking slightly back and forth as her memories and her demons continued to haunt her.

After scrubbing herself clean and drying off her hair, Kei changed into some fresh [clothes](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=88423623) and made her way downstairs. She found the group all gathered in the dining room, sitting around at the table while Rick talked about what happened last night.

“We couldn‘t just leave him behind,” He reasoned, “He would’ve bled out, if he lived that long.”

“It‘s gotten bad in town,” Glenn spoke, looking to everyone in the room.

“What do we do with him?” Andrea asked, genuinely lost on what they could possibly do with another one in their group.

“I repaired his calf muscle the best I can but he‘ll probably have nerve damage,” Hershel announced, walking in with a towel in his hands, “Won’t be on his feet for at least a week.”

“When he is we’ll give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way,” Rick reasoned.

“Isn‘t that the same as leaving him for the walkers?” Andrea asked.

Just then the porch door swung open and Daryl walked through. His attention went to Carol briefly before looking to Kei. She merely looked away, holding her skinny arms and looking back at Rick.

“He‘ll have a fightin chance,” Rick answered.

“You‘re just gonna let him go?” Shane asked, “He knows where we are.”

“He was blind folded the whole way here, he‘s not a threat,” Rick assured, watching as his best friend scoffed.

“Not a threat,” Shane quoted, “How many of ‘em were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, and they ain’t just gonna come lookin for him.”

“They left him for dead, no one is looking!” Rick stated.

“We should still post a guard,” T-Dog suggested firmly.

“He‘s out cold right now,” Hershel remarked, “Will be for hours.”

“You know what? I‘m gonna go get him some flowers and candy!” Shane declared in a sarcastic tone. He got up from leaning against the wall and started making his away out towards the door. He let out a scoff and shook his head, placing his hands on his belt as he walked on.

“Look at this folks!” He announced loudly, “We back in fantasy land!”

“You know, we haven‘t dealt with what you did at my barn yet,” Hershel called. Shane turned around and stopped as the old farmer approached him.

“Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all,” He warned, “This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor—keep your mouth _shut_.”

Silence. Not one word was uttered in Shane’s defense. Everyone just simply watched as the man shook his shaved head with a sigh and turned back around to head out of the house. The man shoved porch door open and left, everyone flinching at the sound of the door hitting against the house. As soon as the man left, tension seemed to ease up a little more. Rick walked up next to Hershel and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Look, we‘re not gonna do anything about it today,” He assured the farmer as well as the others, “Let’s just cool off.”

The meeting adjourned and everyone started leaving and going about their business. Kei looked to her right and noticed Daryl’s eyes on her. She kept her arms folded as she turned away and started making her way out of the house. She could hear heavy footsteps trailing after her as she stepped out and off the porch.

“You wanna hold up a minute?” She heard Daryl call out.

“Not really,” She spoke honestly, just wanting to get away from the house and be alone with her thoughts. She felt a hand take her arm and gently pull her back.

“Hey,” He spoke firmly, “You ain’t bein yourself.”

“Oh, and you are?” She bit, turning around to keep moving forward. She jerked back a little when Daryl’s hand stopped her again.

“You better watch who you spittin’ that venom at, girl,” He warned, “Don’t go runnin’ off to be all emo an’ shit by yourself.”

His words must have pushed a certain button, because Kei snapped her head around and gave him a look that would make Satan piss his pants. She leaned in closer to his face.

“I won’t be alone,” She hissed, jerking her arm away and out of his grip. She stepped back and turned to walk off towards the woods, shouldering her Katana and strapping her Wakizashi to her side in the process. She let out a loud and sharp whistle. As if coming out of nowhere, Ren and Ame suddenly ran up to her and trotted closely by her side. He watched as the three of them disappeared behind the dark treeline, his conscience suddenly making him torn about what he should do. One side was telling him to forget her and let her ass fend for herself, but the other side told him that she was still a part of the group, and it was his job to look out for everyone.

 

Kei ran deeper into the forest as fast as she could. Her heart raced and her blood rushed through her veins. Her senses went wild. She weaved around trees and leapt over thick roots that stuck out of the ground. The smell of dry wood and leaves surrounded her and filled her nose, the air filled her lungs, and the wind felt cool against her sweaty face. The sounds of paws hitting the dirt sounded on either side of her. Ren and Ame ran beside her, following her every move. She felt wild again, at peace with herself, without a care in the world.

She heard another set of feet rush beside her on her right. She turned. Nothing. Another set of feet rushed past on her left. She turned to look the other way. Nothing. Once more, the feet pattered against the leaves on her right, and she turned quickly. Her grandfather, dressed in his training robes was running with her. His white hair flew with the wind, the wrinkles around his eyes scrunching up more as he smiled. He kept looking ahead—running, running, never stopping, keeping the same speed as his living granddaughter right next to him. Kei turned and looked up ahead, leaping over a thick tree root that stuck out of the ground.

“Keiko-sama!” She heard her grandfather yell next to her. She could feel her heart thumping faster and faster, the muscles in her legs burning. Her eyes started to sting. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, a smile slowly forming on her face. Running. She missed running through the woods with him. Ever since she was little he’d have her run through the woods as fast as she could. He would train her to use the forest as a tool of survival, and a weapon against your enemy. She turned her head, looking over to her grandfather. His eyes were elsewhere, wide as saucers as he pointed out towards whatevever was in front of her.

“KEIKO!”

She looked forward again and screamed when something hard knocked into her. She fell backwards, landing onto the ground with a thud, knocking the wind right out of her. She took a sharp gasp inwards as Ren and Ame barked furiously. She heard an odd noise just barely over Ren and Ame’s obsessive barking.

When things finally began to register, a Walker appeared right in her line of sight. A female with chunks of her wirey hair missing, along with half of her face. A pair of steely, cold, and rotted fingers slammed down onto her shoulders. Kei let out a cry and writhed around violently, kicking the walker off of her and rolling to the side. She quickly got up and scrambled to her feet, running in between two trees before jerking back violently. Something had grabbed her by a chunk of her hair, and it had no intention of letting go. Kei screamed as she reached back and tried to pry the walker’s hand off. It's bony, rotted hand only grip tighter. She attempted to pull forward, but the damned creature was caught between the two trees. She wasn’t budging.

Kei grabbed the walker’s wrist and tried to pull it forward, attempting to yank its arm off. The walker merely let out a lustful growl and yanked back just as hard, causing Kei to scream in pain. Ren and Ame tried to snap and claw at the creature. Tearing the skin at its legs and biting at its ankles did nothing to loosen the creature's grip on their master. The walker merely flailed about with it’s free hand and tried to claw at them right back, still keeping an iron grip on Kei‘s long hair.

Kei yelled and writhed about, trying to pull her body forward as the walker kept trying to pull her back. Her head was hitting against the tree, and it was only a matter of time before the walker had a chance to pull her back enought to get to her neck. She quickly looked around for her Katana in panic. It was long enough for her to reach back and stab the dead creature square in the skull. To her dismay though, her weapon had fallen to the ground, and as fate would have it, the damned thing was much too far for her to reach. The walker pulled back harder, making Kei scream through her teeth. It felt like her scalp was going to be ripped off any second. She had to get free, and she had to do it now!

With one hand she quickly reached to her side and gripped onto the handle of her wakisashi. The blade was too short for her to reach back and hit the walker with, but that’s not what she had in mind. She took a sharp breath through her nose and jerked her head forward, reaching in back with her weapon and cutting it across her hair. She felt the tight and painful sensation on her scalp subside as her head broke free. She staggered forward and turned around, gripping her short sword tightly. The walker staggered around the tree, the long remains of her hair still in its bony hand. Kei wrinkled her nose in disgust and charged forward, getting in close to the walker and raising her sword high. She struck her weapon down hard onto its head with a brief and violent scream. She listened as her sword cracked open the Walker’s skull. The rotted corpse tensed up and froze for a moment before falling limp and crumpling to the ground with a loud thud. She let out a heavy whimper as she staggered forward and hovered over the body for a moment. She reached down and yanked her sword out from its skull, clutching it to her chest for dear life.

She violently shook in place as she stared down at the corpse, its foggy irises looking directly at her. Ren and Ame rushed to her side and nudged her repeatedly, encouraging her to move and get away from the wretched thing. She held up a shaky hand and ran her fingers through Ame’s fur. She tore her eyes away from the corpse and looked up ahead. Her grandfather stood beside a tree only a few feet away, looking at her with saddened eyes.

 

Kei grabbed her katana and staggered on back towards camp. Just before she broke through the treeline, she could hear her groups’ frantic voices from afar. Everyone was asking each other what that scream was, and some were wondering where Kei had gone. She looked down to Ren, the red wolf looking up at her with raised eyebrows. The corner of her mouth hiked upwards.

“Go,” She instructed, jerking her head in the camp’s direction. Ren and Ame bolted forward and ran out towards the camp. Carl was the first to notice them, and he pointed to the two wolves while yelling out “Look!” Everyone turned towards them, and that’s when Kei took a deep breath through her nose and stepped out. She kept her eyes to the ground as she walked forward, listening to the sounds of several feet pattering towards her. She felt a pair of strong hands grab onto her shoulders, the force pushing her back only slightly. She stopped to look up at Rick.

“Where the hell did you go?!” He asked frantically, “What happened? We heard screaming!”

“Kei, what happened to you,” Maggie asked, furrowing at the drastic and severely uneven haircut she was currently sporting.

Kei kept her eyes glued to the floor as she attempted to step forward. Rick’s hands stopped her and held her firmly in place.

“No, you tell me what happened,” He demanded firmly, “We all heard screaming, was that you?!”

“I ran into a walker,” She admitted, her tone lifeless and almost monotonous, “The thing grabbed my hair so I cut it  to get away…”

She looked up into Rick’s eyes, and that’s when she knew. She knew by his slight change of expression that he saw it in her eyes. She was growing cold again. Warm Kei was receding back into her shell while defenses were being put up. Whatever happened in the woods just now, it caused Warm Kei to scurry back into her corner, and Cold Kei to come out and take the wheel.

“Am I done now?” She asked, her head tilting to the side a little as if bored with the conversation. Rick’s lips curled inward as he let his hand fall to his sides. He took a deep breath through his nose before putting a hand to his whiskery chin.

“You’re not allowed to go back out there by yourself,” He declared in a harsh whisper, “You take someone human with you next time, or you don’t go at all.”

Kei’s dark eyes looked at him briefly before nodding.

“Fair enough,” She muttered. She stepped to the side and walked past the leader, letting her eyes fall to the dirt as she continued on. She brushed past the others without a word and went back into her tent.

_She sat down on the couch. That leather couch that always sunk in a little, indicating a heavyset man had sat there only minutes prior to her actual appointment. She scratched the side of her thumb a little with her index finger, watching as the man before her with freshly tanned skin wrote on his notepad._ _She scanned around the room. Nothing but bookshelves and random pictures of Freud, Churchill, and Nietzsche hanging around everywhere. This room smelled like old cigars, and it tickled her nose. She didn't like it here._

_“You‘ve failed to adapt to four foster homes,” The therapist replied, “You were sent away twice for psychological evaluation—once for setting your brother’s room on fire, and the other for stabbing your adoptive father in the neck with a pencil.”_

_She continued to look at the man expressionlessly as he scratched his scruffy salt and pepper beard with his sausage fingers. His beady little eyes had read the file over at least four times while she was here, she thought, maybe even more before she had even arrived. She watched as he scoffed lightly and looked up at her._

_“All this at eight,” He sighed, setting the file back down on his desk, “And here you are again; Fighting, drugs on school property, threatening to stab your lab partner with a pencil. Most 13 year old girls tend to think about boys as boyfriends. What do you think about, Keiko?”_

_She didn’t answer. She just kept her deadpan expression as the man smirked and looked down at his desk. He gripped onto his letter opener and held it up for her to see. The blade was curved, like a small katana with engravings on it that she couldn’t make out._

_“You’re thinking about stabbing me with this, aren’t you?” He asked, his tone teasing, almost like he was egging her on. His eyes darted over to her. He saw her little eyebrow on the right raise only slightly. She still had that deadpan look on her face._

_“It’s a thought, right?” He scoffed, setting the letter opener down on the desk, “I bet you’ve been having lots of those thoughts, huh.”_

_Still not a word. Her dark eyes merely followed him as he sat up and walked around his desk, sitting down at the edge in front of her. He looked down at her, his eyes roaming, studying her._

_“What else are you thinking about?” He inquired slowly, “Are you thinking about boys yet? As boyfriends, I mean, not just potential stabbing targets."_

_He chuckled. She didn’t answer. The man looked at her, licking his bottom lip slowly before shifting in his seat._

_“You know, at this point, no boy is going to want you,” He informed, “You intimidate them, scare them all off.”_

_No reaction. She just sat there looking at him. For a split second he wondered if she was even breathing. He didn’t see her little chest rise or fall even once. Still, he kept on and shifted, holding his hand out to the girl._

_“Let's do another excersise,” He offered slowly, watching as her lower eyelids shifted into a slight squint, “We'll get you interacting with men properly in no time. Come here.”_

_He continued to hold his hand out to her, waiting patiently for that small hand of hers, bruised at the knuckles from her recent fight, to be placed in his own. She didn't budge, and that made him sigh. She always did this at first-be all resiliant and quiet, but she would cave eventually. She always did, especially to him when he said the right thing._   
  
_“Keiko, if you want to keep having good reports, you’ll come here,” He reasoned calmly, “You’re almost off the red list. You wouldn't a repeat of last time, would you? Come on, sweetie.”_

_Slowly she stood up without a word. He watched with sick satisfaction as she walked up to him, her expression still blank._

_“I want to be on the desk,” She said, her voice so soft and surprisingly innocent._

_He moved quickly, excitement taking over and clouding reason. He helped her up on the desk and turned her around to face him, rubbing her bony shoulders lovingly before massaging her long slender legs. Her dark eyes stared into his lustful ones, dark intentions hidden behind both. Kei’s were much darker, and this sick man was too horny and stupid to realize that._

_He dipped down and leaned in quickly for a kiss, only to be cut off by Kei suddenly raising her right hand and jabbing something directly into the fleshy spot between his shoulder and neck. His eyes went as wide as tennis balls. His mouth opened up in a shocked and silent scream. He looked up into Kei’s doe eyes, her dark and menacing face leaning in closer to his._

_“Fighting off sick men like you_ is _proper interaction,” She hissed bitterly, twisting the dull blade of his letter opener into his shoulder. The man’s mouth opened to let out a scream when she leapt off the table. She grabbed the back of his head by the hair and yanked him back to look at her._

_"Go ahead and tell whoever you want about what I did to you," She seethed, "But touch me again, and I'll make you regret it."_

_She stared down at him viciously before she lunged forward and slammed his face straight into the edge of the desk. She heard his nose break with a loud crack before he fell over with a loud thud._

_She stood there for a second as silence consumed the room. Suddenly there was a flash, and an ear splitting crack sounded outside. She turned around sharply and looked towards the window with a sharp gasp._

Kei snapped her eyes open and sat up straight in shock. She held onto her chest and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. Thunder rumbled across the sky. She perked up, her heart starting to race again. Another roll of thunder, this time even louder. Her heartbeat thumped harder against her ribcage. She screwed her eyes shut and fell back into her pillows, covering her ears and attempting to block out the sound. Still, her hands did nothing to block out the sound and she screamed when a loud and menacing crack and BOOM! Sounded off. She buried herself into her sleeping bag and whimpered, not bothering to come out and look at who was rushing up to her tent. The sound of racing footsteps got louder before stopping right outside her tent. She heard the zipper slide across before someone stepped aside.

“What is it?! What happened?!” She heard a southern man’s voice ask out. It was Daryl.

The hunter looked around for a second, thinking that walker might have somehow snuck its way into Kei’s tent, but instead he just found a shaking lump of sleeping bag on the nylon floor. He stared at it in confusion.

“The hell are you doing?” He asked, “Thought you was being attacked!”

She didn’t answer him. The man sighed in frustration. She was still mad for whatever reason. He shook his head at her and mumbled an audible, “dumbass” before turning around to walk out.

“I’m…”

He stopped for a moment and looked back in. The girl had made a dark hole in her sleeping bag to look out of. Seeing her like that reminded him of a terrified little animal inside of a small cave.

“I’m…” She took a breath and started again, “I’m scared of…storms.”

His eyebrows raised. The world had ended, and the dead were walking the earth, and she was afraid of a storm. He almost didn’t believe her.

“S’just a little thunder,” He scoffed.

“I don’t—”

Another loud crack sounded off before a heart stopping boom. Even that one made Daryl flinch. He looked inside and saw Kei yelp and pull her sleeping bag further inwards, curling up into a ball and shaking like a leaf. Seeing her like that, it made Daryl’s hard expression slightly soften. She was genuinely scared right now.

“Alright, alright,” He sighed, stepping into the tent and walking over to her, “Yer gonna suffocate yerself in there. C’mon, get out.”

“No,” She whimpered, curling up further.

“Just get on out for a second,” He demanded. He watched as the ball slowly unwravled and Kei poked her head through. He couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

“What,” She asked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“S’that new haircut a'yers,” He admitted, “That and yer face right now. Ya look like a deer in head lights.” 

She let out a very light and very shaky laugh, still clearly tense and nervous as a light rumble sounded off outside. The hunter’s mouth twisted to the side a little as he tried to think of a way to get her mind off of it.

“So, why were ya so weird today?” He asked.

“I got attacked,” She remarked, her eyebrows knitting together.

“You was weird before that,” He mentioned. Dave’s words suddenly came to the girl's mind. She held herself tight as her eyes dropped to the floor.

“I found out Fort Benning got overrun,” She admitted, “I was supposed to meet someone close to me there. I was going to stick with him, but I can't now. I don’t know where he is, or where he could be. I don’t know if he’s alive, or if he died a long time ago…”

“He your boyfriend or somethin’?” She heard him ask. Kei frowned as she looked up at him.

“What?”

“Was he your boyfriend?” He asked, his thumb impulsively going to his mouth as he chewed on the nail. She blinked at him. He only did that when he was really nervous.

“No,” She answered slowly, side-eying him a bit, “He’s my best friend. He has been since I was little.”

And he left it at that. His stormy eyes looked away for a moment as he let his hand fall to his side. She watched as his jaw bobbed up and down lightly. Her stomach dropped a little before butterflies suddenly started to errupt. A light bulb clicked on in her head, and she suddenly remembered the surprise she had tucked away in her rucksack.

“I got you something!” She yelped in realization, causing the man to jump a little. Still wrapped in her sleeping bag, she got up on her knees and shuffled over to her pack. She reached over the sleeping bag’s ege and opened up her bag, pulling out a bottle of Peach schnapps. She turned towards Daryl with a smile and shuffled back over to him. She sat down in front of him and handed over the bottle with an excited smile.

“Here,” She chirped, “I mean it won’t get you drunk or anything, but it’s something.”

He took the bottle and peered at it curiously before reading the label. She watched as his expression changed variously. It went from surprise to a strange sense of softness before converting back into that hard-manly-stern look he normally gave off. He let out a scoff and handed the bottle back.

“I don’ drink none of this girly crap,” He huffed. Her smile faltered a little before she took the bottle back respectively. She twisted the cap off and tipped the bottle upwards, downing its contents.

“Alright,” He sighed, “Easy on that stuff.”

“I thought you said you didn’t want any,” She remarked, wiping her mouth as she handed him the bottle.

“I don’t,” He answered, giving her a reassuring half smile as he took a small swig.

It wasn’t long before the two were laying next to each other on the floor. Kei was fully out of her sleeping bag at this point, having spread it out flat so they both could lay on it. The two of them just laid there, barely even buzzed and listening to the rain pattering down against the nylon. Kei kept her hands folded on top of her chest while Daryl had his hands behind his head. They just laid there in silence, listening to each other’s breathing and the sounds of rain. It was much more peaceful now that the thunder and lightning had stopped.

“S’not so bad, now is it?”

She smiled lightly and turned her head, watching him as he kept his eyes glued to the tent ceiling. He had a nice profile from where she was laying down. A nice nose, thin lips, whispy brown hair that was dark at the tips from sweat.

“I don’t mind rain,” She explained softly, “It’s just thunder and lightning. I’m terrified of it. I have been since I was little.”

She heard him laugh lightly.

“Scaredy Cat,”

“Fuck off,” She scoffed, earning another light laugh from the man beside her.

Silence again. She keep her eyes on him as she licked her lips, mustering up the courage to say what she needed to say next.

“I’m really sorry for being a bitch earlier,” She confessed, finally earning a look from him, “I shouldn’t have been so mean like that. You were just looking out for me.”

He stared at her momentarily before looking away, turning his head back towards the ceiling.

“S’nothin,” He muttered, chewing on the inside of his lip a little. 

“Daryl,” She called, a faint smile growing on her lips. He kept his eyes on the ceiling.

“What?”

“I really do mean it,”

“I know, and I said it was fine,”

“Daryl,”

“What?” He asked, turning his head to face her. She rolled closer to him and kissed him square on the nose, making the man jerk back like a cat that had been sprayed with water.

“What the hell was—!”

“Gotcha,” She giggled, smiling brightly at his confused expression. He put his palm to his face and began rubbing his nose.

“Do that again and I’ll toss yer ass outside,” He warned.

“Fine, fine, sorry,” She sighed, giggling afterwards as she rolled back into her respective spot. The two laid there in silence for a couple minutes before Kei turned her head to him again.

“Hey Daryl,”

“No,” He deadpanned.

“Wanna fool around?” She teased, rolling over to get closer to him. He rolled over as well, but over towards the mesh window to get away from her.

“Stop,” He spoke, trying to sound serious and failing with a small laugh, “I’m gonna beat your ass.”

He stopped at the window as Kei got close and nudged him a little.

“I know something I could beat for you,” She offered, laughing at his very breif taken-back expression.

“No!” He laughed, trying to push her back towards her spot. Kei kept rolling forward to stay in place before Daryl just flat out got up and stepped over her. She let out an “Ah, you‘re no fun!” and giggled as he laid down in her old spot.

“Take a nap,” He demanded. Kei rolled over to him and stared, her eyes big and her lips forming a child-like pout.  
  
“I don’t want to,” She whined.

“Yes you do,” He asserted, screwing his eyes shut in an attempt to fall asleep fast.

“…Okay fine,” She griped playfully, rolling flat on her back. She giggled lightly to herself, thinking back to the hunter’s wide-eyed look when she kissed him on the nose. He was positively adorable when he was thrown off like that. The smile on her mouth grew wider, but quickly fell when another wave of thunder rolled by. Daryl turned his head and saw her tense up and begin shaking. She chewed on the inside of her lip and her body started to curl up into a ball again. He stared at her for a minute. It was intriguing how such a brave girl who fought walking corpses and living men willing to kill her without thought, was positively vulnerable against thunder and lightning.

“Hey,” He called out softly.

She turned her head towards him, her doe eyes looking into his stormy blues. He rolled onto his side and patted the empty spot right in front of him.

“C’mere,”

She scooted closer to him and snuggled into his chest as he took her into a warm embrace. He held her close as he laid flat on his back again, wrapping an arm around her skinny frame and letting her nuzzle into the crook of his neck. She placed a hand over his heart and gently gripped onto his flannel like a child would with a blanket. Suddenly realizing what he‘d actually done, it made him panic slightly. This slightly intimate and very close form of contact suddenly brought on a rush of self-conscious thoughts in his head. They all screamed at him, yelled at him, telling him he was an idiot for sticking around. He should have just left when he saw she was safe. It was only a rain storm for crying out loud! 

However, all of those voices subsided when he heard a soft sigh from the girl resting comfortably on his chest. He tilted his head a little to look at her. The way he held her seemed to have calmed her down a lot. She had stopped shaking, her muscles and breathing were completely relaxed. In fact, she had fallen fast asleep, her little chest rising and falling slow and steady like. A tiny smile appeared on the hunter's lips as he laid back and shut his eyes. He figured he could put aside his overworked mind and stack of paranoid thoughts this one time. After all, she needed him right now.


	14. Judge, Jury, Executioner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wanna run that by me again?" He warned coldly. Kei watched as the muscles in his jaw began to clench, his squinted eyes hard and menacing. She leaned forward, her eyes dead set in his and her tone low,
> 
> "Gladly," She challenged, "To summarize, you're just a jealous little boy in a sandbox, and Rick's the kid with all the nice toys."

Kei woke up early, yawning and rubbing the dried tear residue from her eyes. She sat up straight and stretched, letting out a sigh of relief that the storm was over and that she lasted the night. She stared around at the tent, everything dimly lit by the early morning sun. She looked next to her. Daryl was still lying there, his breathing light and quiet. She watched as his eyes fluttered about behind his eyelids. He was dreaming.

She smiled at him and got up, carefully stepping over the man and walking to her duffle bag. She opened it up and pulled out a (relatively) clean shirt. She set that one aside and took hold of her own, sliding it up her frame and past her shoulders.

The tattoo was the first thing he noticed when he opened his sleepy eyes. A decent sized and menacing black dragon that curved from the top of her shoulder blade to a bit past the top of her waist. He didn’t look at her as a girl getting naked in front of him right now (not entirely, anyway).  In this moment, he just saw skin and bones, simple as that. He watched the way her bones poked and shifted behind the skin of her bare back as she moved. He could see the little bumps of her spine and ribs. God she was so skinny, and all those baggy shirts she often wore didn’t help her case either.

She moved again, reaching into her duffle bag and pulling out a bra.

For some reason, seeing the black lace made the man officially wake up and realize what he in fact was doing. He immediately shut his eyes and turned around quickly. The noise of the sleeping bag shifting caused Kei to turn around sharply. She peered at the back of his head with wide eyes.

“Are you awake?” She asked out quietly. She watched as Daryl shifted and nodded his head.

“You changin’?” He asked.

“Don’t turn around,” She whispered sharply, clutching her bra to her chest.

“Well hurry up,” He whispered back, “I got shit to do.”

She turned back around and quickly put her bra and t shirt on. After letting the hunter know that it was all good, he rolled over and looked at her. The expression on his face made the girl furrow in confusion. She watched as his eyes tore away and looked towards the ceiling, his jaw bobbing up and down in the process. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but stopped when he suddenly moved. He got up and exited the tent without a word.

The morning sun had risen, its light only illuminating parts the fields and trees. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=63296788) exited her tent and looked out towards the campfire. Rick and the others were all huddled around eating breakfast. Daryl was nowhere to be seen. She bit her a lip a little as she walked out, holding her arms and keeping her head down as she took a seat on a lawn chair. Carl walked out of his tent with Ren and Ame following suit. He took a seat next to the girl and folded his hands in his lap.

“Hey Kei,” He chirped, giving her a small smile. Kei kept her eyes glued to the dirt. A gentle breeze went by, her nose twitching slightly as the campfire smoke tickled her sense of smell.

“Hey,” She muttered.

“You okay?” He asked curiously, “Are you still scared from the other night?”

Her thoughts immediately went to the storm last night, and to Daryl who had slept over in her tent. Her eyes darted over to him, her expression telling him to explain further.

“About the guys in town shooting at you,” He specified. She licked her bottom lip and looked away.

“…Yeah,” She lied, “It was pretty scary…”

“Well…you’re safe now,” He assured while patting her shoulder in comfort. Her lips formed a light smile and her head titled to the side, resting itself on the Sherriff’s hat planted on his head. She watched as Carol walked up to her with a plate of eggs in her hand. She handed it over to the girl with a comforting smile and sat down beside her.

“How’re you doing today, sweetie?” She asked, gently placing a hand on her bony shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Kei answered, reaching up and touching her hand lovingly, “I’m sorry if I worried you all yesterday.”

“Yeah well you gave us all quite a scare,” Carol admitted, “We’re just glad you’re safe.”

Kei looked away with a smile, noticing from the corner of her eye that Carol’s eyes were wandering over her skull.

“Why don’t I cut your hair a bit,” She offered the girl, “Make it a little more even for ya.”

Kei smiled to herself.

“Well…a lot more even,” She heard Carol giggle. The dark haired girl couldn’t help but giggle as well, nodding her head and turning it to press her cheek against the back of their hands.

“I’d like that alot,”

"Alright everyone, gather round now," Rick spoke, his hands on his hips as he watched the rest of the group beginning to circle around him. Lori kneeled down by the campfire and poured herself some coffee before looking up at her husband,

"So whatcha gonna do?" She asked out, “We’d all feel better if we knew the plan.”

"Is there a plan?" Andrea inquired.

"Are we gonna keep him here?" Glenn asked. Rick looked over at Shane and the man stared back. The two of them then looked out in the shed's direction.

"We'll know soon enough,"

Rick nodded out towards the shed and everyone's heads turned to see Daryl approaching. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder and his knuckles were bloody. Kei furrowed slightly and Daryl stopped, glancing at her for a moment, and then to Rick.

"Boy there's got a gang," He explained, "Thirty men. They have heavy artillery, and they ain't lookin to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they’re gonna—they’re gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol asked grimly, her eyes staring down at his bloodied fist. He paused to look at her before he moved past and headed over to the nearest tree.

"Had a little chat," He answered.

"No one goes near this guy," Rick demanded. Lori walked up to him, looking into his eyes for an answer.

"Rick, what're you gonna do?"

"We have no choice. He's a threat," The man stated firmly, "We have to eliminate the threat."

Kei tore her attention away from Daryl and shot a look over at Rick. The leader looked to everyone else, his eyes dead set and firm. Silence spread across the group as Dale walked up to him, his eyebrows knitted.

"You're just gonna kill him?" He asked.

"It's settled,” Rick stated, “We'll do it today.”

Kei furrowed at Rick’s sudden change of behavior. For a minute there, she could’ve sworn she heard Shane talking out of his own mouth. Without another word, Rick stalked off towards the farmhouse and Dale quickly followed after him, his footsteps about as rushed and heightened as he was.  The group silently began to go about their business. Carl ran off with Ame to go play fetch while Ren trotted off with Carol to find Daryl. After a few minutes of sitting by the fire and drinking her coffee, Kei looked out from her seat, seeing Dale coming back to camp. She pushed herself off the lawn chair and followed after Dale just as he passed her.

"Dale!" She called, the sound of her voice making the man slowly stop and turn around. A faint sense of fear was clear in his eyes he stared at her,

"What did Rick say?" She asked curiously as she stepped up to him. The girl watched as he put his head down and walked towards her. Stopping, he sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes,

"He's giving me the day to talk to everyone," He explained, "You know, try to change opinions, get them to really think on it. We're going to meet inside the house and take a vote at sundown."

"I want to help out," She confessed, turning to look over at the shed. The old man smiled softly, patting her shoulder lightly in comfort.

"Just hang around here for now, keep an eye on things," He urged, "I'm gonna try and get Andrea to post down at the shed, see if she can keep Shane or Daryl away from him for the time being."

The girl nodded at his plan, watching him as he looked away towards the rest of the group.

"I'm hoping I can turn this around for the boy's sake," He said.

The girl watched as Dale gave her a smile and turned away, heading back towards the RV to talk to Andrea. Kei turned and looked back over to the shed, remembering Daryl's bloody hands as he stalked back towards camp. If Daryl's hands were that bad, then Randall probably looked a lot worse. She actually started to feel a little bad for the guy. He went from being rescued, taken in, and mended by people to being cuffed up, tortured, and (soon to be) executed by people. It was kind of hard to believe that this was the same group that took her in and let her earn her place, even after all that she and the wolves did to them.

She took a breath through her nose, and nodded to herself. She had to at least make sure the boy was okay, maybe even a little comfortable before sundown. Regardless if Rick didn't want it now, they still saved his life. If he didn't have even a little bit of sympathy for the boy, he would have left him for dead after she ripped his leg off the fence. He didn't though, and that meant he still cared. His descision to kill Randall couldn’t have been his and his alone. Shane must’ve said something, something to egg Rick on and force him to see it his way.

The girl walked on over to her car and opened up the trunk, pulling out some clean gauze pads and wraps. She found an old rag and a bucket to use as well, taking the objects with her as she walked down the driveway towards the closest and cleanest well. She carried the bucket of water from the well, a cloth soaking inside as water sloshed about.

Nearing the shed where Randall had been kept, Kei walked over to the back and set the bucket down. She tossed her bag up and over, watching as it went through the open window and landed inside with a soft thud. She lifted up the bucket and carefully climbed up the ladder on the side. She made her way inside and maneuvered around the rafters before jumping down and landing inside the loft. The water from the bucket splashed about and hit the wood paneling, making the boy jump slightly and yelp "who's there?!" Kei stepped in and grabbed her backpack, shouldering it as she walked forward to look at the boy below. He sat against the wall in defeat. Sweat poured down his face and soaked through the blindfold he had over his swollen eyes. Kei tilted her head, examining the cuts, bruises, and lumps that extended over his face. The damage was a little worse than she expected.

She made her way over to the ladder and quietly climbed down with her free hand, trying not to spill the remainder of the water inside the bucket. She landed on the floor and stepped closer, watching as he perked up and started to breathe rapidly, terrified of who it was that was approaching him. Kneeling down in front of him, she pulled the bucket towards her and then looked back to Randall. Reaching up to his face, her fingers softly latched onto the blindfold. He flinched at her touch, fully expecting to get hit again, or worse. She pulled the blindfold off quickly and tossed it to the ground beside her. He slowly opened his eyes (one being too swollen to open fully) and looked at her. He blinked a few times before his chapped and bloody lips formed a faint smile.

"H-hey," He chirped, his voice shaky and dry, "Y-You're that girl… that girl from town, when you guys saved me."

She nodded, not saying a word as she looked down at his leg. The gauze was dirty and it had been ripped off. A small bit of blood trickled out from the wound Hershel had just mended. She furrowed. Daryl.

"I'm really sorry bout shootin at ya," He apologized, "I-1 was just doin what I was told, I didn't know any better. Honest."

Kei looked at him expressionlessly as she placed her hand in the bucket, pulling out the wet cloth.

"Open," She said simply.

He barely opened his mouth, and strained to keep it open as a small grunt of pain escaped his throat. She sighed lightly, holding the washcloth over his mouth and squeezing it. The water drizzled into his mouth and the boy consumed it like it was air. Kei put the cloth back in the bucket, waving it around in the cold water,

"I see you've met Daryl," She spoke, looking back over at him. Randall's head lazily nodded and he softly slammed his head back against the wall,

"Y-yeah… h-he made me tell him all kinds’a stuff ‘bout my old group," He confessed, "I-I told him everythin', b-but he just kept swingin' and swingin'…"

She listened as Randall panted softly in fatigue. Kei rung out the wet cloth and turned back towards the boy, patting his face lightly with it. Sighing in relief, he looked at her,

"Pretty crazy night back in town, huh?" He spoke, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Yeah," She scoffed, "Sorry I almost tore your leg off.”

"N-Nah, I mean...I kinda wanted to thank ya for it,” He admitted, "I-If you hadn't done what you did, I'd be walker food for sure."

She continued to dab the cloth, removing all the blood on his face and the spit that dribbled down his chin. There was a small silence between them until Randall stared at her, his eyes sad and dull,

"I'm goin' to die today, aren't I?"

She looked at him with pursed lips as she placed the cloth back in the bucket. The fact that she didn’t answer made the boy panic even more.

"They all think I'm this bad guy," He whimpered, "I'm really not!"

"Shhh!" She whispered sharply, making him flinch in place. She pulled the cloth back out and rung it a little, dabbing it lightly on his face.

"You and I aren't that different," She whiserped, "I was desperate, doing whatever I needed to do to get by. I stole from Rick's group; food, ammo, weapons. I threatened them. I was willing to kill if it had come to that."

He looked at her thoughtfully, hope growing in his expression as she continued on.

"I snuck on the farm to steal more and they caught me," She dabbed at the cut on his eyebrow, "I returned the ammo, and then I ran off. Rick, the sherriff you met, let me me go _._ Shane, the man with the shaved head, didn't like that and shot me in the leg. They found me wounded in the fields and took me back to camp. They bandaged me up, fed me, and let me have a place in their group." 

She wiped his face once more before placing it back in the bucket. 

"Even after all that I did, they still cared for me," She remarked. The boy gave her a timid nod and she gave him a faint smile. She then stood up, looking down at him while picking up the bucket. Randall stared up at her, a spark of hope evident in his bruised and swollen eyes.

"Dale is going around talking to everyone, trying to change their minds," She explained, "We're having a meeting later on to determine your fate. I'll try to turn it in your favor, but I can’t promise you anything."

Before he could say a word, the shed door swung open. Sunlight burst through and casted a menacing silouhette on the figure in the doorway. Randall recoiled at the bright light while Kei stood firmly without fatlering.

"What the hell do you think you're doin?"

Shane entered the shed and approached them with a hardened look on his face. His thumbs were tucked in his belt and his eyes were dark with uncertainty. Kei's eyes narrowed as she turned around and brushed past him, dodging his hand as he attempted to grab her arm. She exited the shed and listened as the door slammed shut behind her.

"Hey!" Shane barked from behind her, "Hey I'm talkin' to you!!"

 She let out an agitated sigh and turned, the man stopping only a few feet from her.

"What the hell you doin," He seethed, “Huh? What you say to him?”

"Is it any of your business?" She asked bitterly.

"Boy's gonna die soon anyways, why waste time tryin'a pretty him up?" He scoffed.

"We decide _tonight_ at the meeting if he lives or dies," She justified, "He isn't dead yet."

Shane couldn't help but smile and laugh to himself. Kei's expression didn’t falter.

"That meetin's just for Dale sake so he can sell us all a sob story," He proclaimed.

"I'm with Dale," She admitted, "It isn't right for him to die because he—"

"The kid shot at you and your own, and you still gonna stick up for him?!" He let out a quick laugh, "Well shit, didn't think a girl like you would be that stupid!"

Kei’s eyes fell to the ground as her lips pursed. Name-calling, the maturest move out there. The girl took a deep breath through her nose and let it out slowly. She stood her ground and looked over at the man, her head tilted a little and a neutral look on her face.

"You know, I'm surprised you even come back with Rick alive each day,” She remarked, her voice surprisingly innocent and calm, "You look like you want to drive a knife in his back, take Lori and Carl for yourself."

The smug grin on Shane’s face dropped, just like that. He moved closer to her, looking into her big dark eyes. She stared back into his hardened black orbs, the hostility behind them matching her own.

"Wanna run that by me again?" He warned coldly. Kei watched as the muscles in his jaw began to clench, his squinted eyes hard and menacing. She leaned forward, her eyes dead set in his and her tone low,

"Gladly," She challenged, "To summarize, you're just a jealous little boy in a sandbox, and Rick's the kid with all the nice toys."

"You better watch it, girl," He seethed, eyeing the thin girl as she let out an airy scoff.

"What are you going do," She asked, her eyes wandering over him like she wasn't impressed, "You going to kill me like you did Otis?"

A strong hand suddenly latched itself onto Kei's neck in a deadly grip. Shane slammed her up against the side of the shed, making Randall jump on the other side. Her right hand immediately went to his wrist, twisting it as her left hand smacked into his elbow. With both hands she attempted to pry his hand off and twist at his arm, but strength seemed to favor the man in front of her. He pulled her back and slammed her up against the side again, to force of it and his iron grip causing her to panic. She yelped and clawed at his hand as he kept her pinned against the shed. He brought his face inches from her own, his nose burying itself into hers,

"You listen here girl," He growled through his teeth, "Don't think for one  _second_  that I won't snap that fuckin' neck a'yers. Talk shit like that again, I won't hesitate, you understand me?!"

Kei let out a strained gasp, nodding lightly in agreement as his grip released on her. Her knees gave out and she dropped to the ground, landing in the grass with a soft thud. Shane began stalking off back towards the campsite, his hands clenched into fists as his boots stomped against the dirt. The girl gasped for air, choking and sputtering slightly before managing to take heaping breaths.

"Don't you go near him again, girl!" The man barked, "That knife might just end up in yer own back if you ain't careful!" 

She got up to her knees and stared daggers into the back of Shane's head. Hatred began bubbling in the pit of her stomach as she cradled her neck. She wanted nothing more than to run after him and tackle him to the ground. She wanted to swing at his face, break his jaw, and kick him until he choked on his own fucked up ribs.

 

The day was starting to come to a close as the sun began to retreat behind the mountains. Everyone flooded into the farmhouse, finding their way into the den where some sat and some stood. Kei stood between Dale and Andrea just outside the dining room, watching as everyone settled themselves. Rick shut the door and stood over by the couch, looking around at everyone. Kei's eyes flicked over to the little boy standing in the hall next to her two pet wolves, the three of them eagerly waiting for the meeting to start. No one said a word. They all merely stared, awkwardly waiting for either Lori or Rick to take notice and send Carl out. Rick turned towards the little boy, nodding for him and the wolves to retreat to the other room with Jimmy. The young boy looked to his mother, earning that strict stare that he knew meant business. Carl tilted his head with an annoyed sigh and went on to the next room, leaving the Adults to get down to business.

Just as the kitchen door shut, Glenn was the first to speak,

"So, how do we do this... just take a vote?"

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea asked. Rick walked further into the group and Lori looked to him from the doorway.

"How about majority rules?"

"Well let’s—Let’s just see where everybody stands,” Rick offered, “Then we can talk through the options."

"Well, where I sit," Shane opined, "There’s only way to move forward…"

"Killing him," Dale interrupted, "Right? I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It’s clear which way the wind’s blowin."

"Well if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know," Rick claimed sternly.

"Well I can tell ya it's a small group," Dale huffed, "Maybe just… me, Kei, and Glenn…"

Glenn didn't say anything. He only looked at Dale as he twisted his hat nervously in his hands. Kei looked to Glenn without a word, the look on his face saying all that it needed to for her.

"Look I," The boy took a deep breath, "I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this—"

"They’ve got you scared!" Dale exclaimed, putting a hand out towards the others in the group.

"He's not one of us!" Glenn pointed out, "And we've…we’ve lost too many people already…"

The tension was getting high, and the silence (while brief) was making it worse. Dale's hands began to shake as he looked around, staring at each member of the group before stopping on Maggie,

"How bout you? Do you agree with this?!" He asked, putting her on the spot. There was a small pause as everyone awaited her answer. The brunette just sighed lightly and kept her arms folded as she looked over to Rick,

"Couldn't we continue keepin’ him prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed," Daryl chimed as he leaned against the wall. Hershel looked to his daughter, his expression wary,

"It may be a lean winter,"

"We could ration better," Lori offered.

"Well, he could be an asset," Dale pitched, “Give him a chance to prove himself!”

"Put him to work?" Glenn suggested.

"We're not lettin’ him walk around," Rick bit assertively.

"We could put an escort on him," Maggie suggested. Shane looked over at her,

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?"

"Ren and Ame could," Kei offered, “They’d catch him easily if he tried to run off."

The girl could feel a set of hateful eyes burning into the side her skull. She turned her head and stared over at Shane, his expression bitter as he glared at her from across the room. Daryl glanced over at the dark eyed girl and her stare-off with Shane before Rick put his hand up,

"I don't think any of us should be walkin’ around with this guy," He conveyed firmly.

"He's right, I-I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up," Lori said in an uneasy tone.

 Andrea looked around at them.

"Well we can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor," She replied.

"Look, say we let him join us," Shane suggested, "Right? Maybe-maybe he’s helpful, maybe he's nice. We let down our guard and he runs off and brings back his thirty men. What then?"

Everyone looked over at him thoughtfully. Dale stared over at the man in disbelief,

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may _never_ even attempt?!" He turned to look at everyone, "If we do this, we're saying there’s no hope. Rule of law is dead, there is no civilization!"

Shane shook his head and mumbled an 'Oh my god' under his breath. Hershel looked to Rick,

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?"

"You barely came back this time," Lori spoke, looking to her husband with a worried expression on her face, “There are walkers, you could break down, y-you could get lost—”

“Or get ambushed,” Daryl added.

"They’re right, we should not put our own people at risk," Glenn stated firmly.

"If you...go through with it, how would you do it?" Patricia asked while fiddling with her necklace, "Would he suffer?"

Rick let out a silent sigh and looked down.

"We could hang him," Shane suggested, "Right? Just snap his neck…"

Rick nodded lightly.

"I thought about that," He remarked, "Shooting may be more humane."

There was a breif period of silence before T-Dog put his hand to his chin,

"And uh…what about the body?" He muttered, "Do we bury him or—"

"Wh-whoa, hold on, hold on!" Dale interrupted, his voice becoming loud and distraught, "You're talking about this like it’s already decided!"

"You've been talkin all day, goin round in circles," Daryl said while twirling his finger in the air, "You just wanna go 'round in circles again?"

"This is a young man's life!" Dale spat out in hysterics, "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation!...Is this what it's come to?! We kill someone because we can't decide  _what else_  to do with them!? You saved him, Rick! And now look at us… he's been tortured, he's gonna be executed!"

Rick had a hard time looking at Dale at this point, knowing full well that the old man was right.

"How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?" Dale asked aloud, looking at everyone in desperation. The rest of the group exchanged glances with each other, tension and silence swelling in the room. Dale was right. They knew he was right, but still...something was holding them all back from admitting it.

"We all know what needs to be done," Shane remarked.

"No, Dale is right," Rick stated, "We can't leave any stone unturned here, we have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution!?" Andrea asked out

"Let Rick finish," Lori spoke as Andrea butted in again,

"We haven't come up with a single, viable option yet. I wish we could—"

"So let's work on it!" Dale exclaimed.

"We are-!" Daryl yelled.

"Stop it!" Carol's feeble voice entered the air and she stared at everyone with meek eyes, not wanting to be part of the situation,

"Just stop it! I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting," She urged, "I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please, decide—either of you, both of you…but leave me out."

"Not speaking out," Dale jeered, eyeing Carol firmly, "Or killing him yourself… there's no difference."

All the women perked up and frowned over at the old man. Rick stepped forward and put his hand out towards him.

"Alright, that's enough!" He bit looking out towards each member of the group, “Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."

Silence again. The air was tense as everyone bowed their heads, some thinking, others not wanting to say another word on the matter. Kei’s mind was reeling, her brain searching, trying to find the right words to say. She took a small breath and opened her mouth to speak, but it was cut off as Dale pointed over to Rick,

"You once said that we don't kill the living," He quoted out.

"Well that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick argued back.

"B-But don’t you see!?" The old man plead, "If we do this, the-the people we were, the-the world that we knew is dead! And this new world is ugly, it's… _harsh_ , i-it-it’s survival of the fittest!...And that's a world I don’t wanna live in. And I don't--I don't believe that any of you do! I can't!"

Dale looked at everyone and his eyes began to water. He was throwing his entire heart out on the table and everyone refused to hear him. Kei's lips twisted to the side.

"Please!" He begged, choking slightly and holding back tears, "Let's just do what's right!...Isn't there anybody else that's gonna stand with me?!”

There was another soft silence between everyone, no one knowing what to say. All eyes turned to Kei as she stood, looking to each member with a surprisingly neutral demeanor. Dale's eyes turned hopeful at the sound of her calm voice,

"I stole from you all," She spoke out, "I threatened you and your safety. After getting caught stealing you let me run, Rick. Shane could have put a bullet in my head right then and there, but you let me go. And after he shot me? You still could've killed me, but you didn't hesitate to bring me back to the farmhouse and _help_ me. You bandaged me up, fed me, and even let be a part of your group. What makes Randall's situation any different from mine? That fact he shot at you instead of sicking wild animals on you?"

Her dark eyes went to each member of the group and saw them point to the floor. She turned to her leader and stared at him firmly, authoratively.

"If you go on and kill him, you might as well kill me and the wolves too," She challenged, "Because I promise you Rick, the three of us are way more of a threat than that boy in the shed right now."

Rick dipped his head and sighed, refusing to look at the girl as her eyes bore down on him. She folded her arms and looked over at Dale. Nervously, he crumpled his hat in his hands, giving the girl a light smile with thankfulness in his glassy eyes.

"I'm sorry if this goes south for you," She spoke solemnly, turning her head to look back over at her group, "If it's strangers and potential threats you all are so worried about, then I'd be more than happy to leave.”

Andrea and Maggie furrowed while Lori and Glenn looked at her with widened eyes. Shane raised his eyebrows, tilting his head thoughtfully like it wasn't too bad of an idea.

“Kei,” Glenn said, “You don’t—”

“No it's okay Glenn, really,” She intervened, “Four bodies is a lot. I wouldn't want that much blood on this group's hands. But If one person can die on this farm due to being a stranger that threatened you at the end of the world, then I think that's a sign I should go. I promised a friend that I'd keep on living, and to be honest, I'd really hate for the wolves and I to be next in the slaughter line if we stay."

 

Silence again. No one said a word. She glanced over at Rick one last time before moving past him and heading towards the door. Daryl stared at her as she passed by, waiting for her to look at him and somehow reveal that what she had just said was a lie. Her eyes only met his for a couple seconds, and he could tell that she was being dead serious. His mind reeled with confusion on what to do. Stay and listen to the final decision? Or follow after her to make sure she wasn't really going to leave?

He heard the door swing open and slam shut behind him, her feet pattering against the steps as she left the porch.

Kei's feet trampled against the ground as she quickened her pace back to the campsite, jumping onto the large oak tree and climbing her way up. She settled herself on a branch closest to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. She let out a sigh, wondering to herself where it was she would go if Randall in fact did die. Fort Benning was gone now, and this farm seemed to be the safest thing for miles, maybe even in the whole state. But she couldn’t stay here if they were going to kill him. She wasn’t lying when she said she was an even worse threat than Randall. She was. She had done things, terrible things that she herself didn’t regret; but if any of them had found out about it, they would surely have her kicked out or worse.

Maybe it was better this way. She did well on her own before the group, perhaps she would do the same without them.

She let her head fall back against the bark of the tree. She stared up at the burning sky, watching as the sun slowly fell into the horizon.

 

Hours later, the decision was made and Randall's fate was decided. The boy had to die, and Rick was going to kill him in the barn. As soon as it was done, everything would be settled, and all would go back to normal. "Normal" however would have to go on without Kei, because she was dead serious on leaving. If Shane was capable of convincing Rick and the others to kill Randall, what was stopping them from wanting her and the wolves gone as well? Shane was slipping. How long would it take before he tried to kill her? What if he fails and she ends up killing him? What would the group do then? Questions kept piling up in her brain and they wouldn't stop, not even as she packed up her things.

The camp was as grim as it was quiet. Everyone hid their heads and avoided each other's stares. Time seemed to tick slower and slower as they all waited for the deed to be done. There was a small dinner of chicken and veggies set, but Kei chose to give her share to Ren and Ame. The girl sat in the old oak tree, looking out at the stars in thought. Dale had walked off to the fields to gather his thoughts while Rick, Shane, and Daryl took Randall from the shed. The three of them dragged him along the dirt path, taking him to the barn to end his life. Kei tried to keep her eyes fixed on the stars, waiting for the one gunshot to ring through her ears.

However, after waiting for a long while, the gunshot never went off. Kei could hear the rest of group growing anxious as they whispered amongst themselves. She heard twigs cracking and two sets of footsteps slowly approaching. Rick and Carl emerged from the dirt path, his hand on his son's shoulder as they walked up to the group. Everyone stared as Rick stopped in front of them, Carl standing over by his mother. Kei watched while the others all looked to Rick for an answer. He put his hands on his hips, looking to each member that currently stood around the campfire,

"We're keepin him in custody for now…"

A large wave of relief seemed to wash over everyone, all of them letting out silent sighs and giving faint smiles to each other.

"I'm gonna go find Dale," Andrea announced, a smile on her face as she walked off. Kei saw Lori and Rick whispering amongst themselves. She gave them a half smile and tuned them out, leaning back against the tree with a sigh. She looked back up at the night sky, her heart thumping in her chest, the smile on her face growing bigger. Dale's words helped Rick find his humanity once again. Randall was going to live, and she would stay another day.

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds and shone it's light down on the farm. Kei lifted herself and threw her spindly legs over the large branch. She carefully climbed down the tree, her feet touching solid ground for the first time since sundown. She stretched out her arms and legs with a grunt, letting out a sharp sigh of relief once her muscles relaxed.

"Kei," A soft voice called. The girl turned around, looking over at Rick as he approached her.

"You and Dale," He spoke, his voice soft and restless, "You were right. The both of you. And I'm sorry for not...seeing it, earlier. I just hope that you'll stay with the group."

Kei's eyes trailed back down at the ground. Rick stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"We would never _ever_ want to hurt you or your wolves," He promised, "You're not in a slaughter line, you're in a group, a family. You three have helped us a great deal, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we want you to keep with us."

She looked back up at him, the expression on her face warm with a light smile. It immediately dropped when a blood curdling cry came from out of nowhere off in the distance. Rick and Kei perked up as everyone's heads whipped around in confusion. Another cry. This one louder and more painful sounding than before. It was coming from the fields. Rick took a few steps forward before turning around to look at Lori.

"Get Carl," Lori nodded and rushed back inside their tent, gathering up Carl while Rick got out his gun. Lori took Carl's hand and let him outside, instructing him to go back to the Farmhouse.

"B-but wait! what was that!?" Carl asked frantically, "What happened?!"

"Carl, head for the house!" Rick yelled, "T-Dog get a shotgun! Now! Kei come with me!"

Kei reached behind her and slid out her katana, using her free hand to whistle sharply for Ren and Ame. Her two pets rushed up to her side and watched as Kei pointed over to Carl.

"Ame! Protect Carl!" She yelled, "Ren!  _Sou!_ " 

Ame darted after the little boy and the two then took off running. Ren darted forward towards the noise, Kei and Rick following after her. The others ran around in a frenzy trying to find weapons and flashlights. In a dead sprint, Rick kicked open the gate and Kei followed him quickly into the field, her skin crawling when the shouting became louder and more erratic. They could see a faint light in the field and a figure bounding through the long grass,

"Dale!" Andrea cried out, running for dear life towards the source of the noise.

"Help! Over here!" Kei knew that voice. It was Daryl's, and it was as frantic as she's ever heard him. The source off all the panic came into view and Kei's eyes went wide as she came to a stop. Rick stumbled forward a little before kneeling down in the grass. Dale was sprawled out across the ground, his stomach torn to pieces and his eyes wide in hysteria. Kei could feel stomach twisting and her entire body grow numb. Her sword slipped out from her hand. Her weapon fell over onto the grass just as she fell to her knees by his side, wide-eyed, panting from shock and speechlessness. Andrea, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn arrived quickly. Their reactions were all the same. Everyone was frantic, some trying to process what was happening, others trying to keep Dale focused on them while help was on the way. Rick reached over and gently cupped Dale's face, looking down at him with wild eyes matching the old man's.

"Dale, Dale--look at me, listen to me, just listen to me," Rick tried to get his attention, but his words seemed to have no effect. Dale's eyes were wide with pain and shock, his head jutting about every which way.

"Get Hershel!" Rick shouted as he stood back up, "He needs blood, we gotta operate now!" Kei crawled up next to Dale and grabbed his hand, his fingers instantly latching on for dear life. Kei gripped his hand tightly and cupped his bearded cheek with her free hand, titing his head in her direction.

"Dale? Dale look at me—hang on, okay? You're going to be alright."

He looked at her briefly before his eyes looked on, staring back up at Rick as he continued to cry out for Hershel. The rest of the group arrived quickly, all of them staggering forward and looking down at the horrific scene in complete shock. Kei's eyes screwed shut as she put his sweaty hand to her cheek, holding it lovingly as Dale panted and moaned in agony. Andrea got on her knees next to Kei, trying to reassure the old man as his dark eyes met her light blues.

"Hang on, Dale," She begged, "Hang on. Look at me, we're gonna help." 

"What happened!?"

Hershel ran up and Rick quickly approached him, bringing him over to where Dale was.

"What do we do!?" He asked out. The farmer knelt down to evaluate the damage, staring over Dale's shredded torso as everyone frantically tried to keep Dale focused on them. Rick knelt down next to Hershel, hovering over Dale and pointing at him.

"Can we move him!?"

"He won't make the trip," The old farmer assured.

"You have to do the operation here," Rick commanded quickly, standing up to his feet, "Glenn get back to the house-!"

Hershel put his hand on Rick's shoulder, calling his name firmly. The leader froze and looked at him, watching as the old man shook his head with a grim look on his face. Rick knew what he was saying, and that made him turn around sharply, barking out a loud "NO!"

The group broke down. Andrea and Lori began sobbing. The group could only stand and stare now. They were at a loss for words. No one knew what to say or do. Dale gasped and cringed, screwing his eyes shut as he cried out in pain. His suffering was becoming intense, pain shooting throughout his entire body. Everyone could tell that it was becoming too much for him. Kei turned and looked over at Rick through her tears, her eyes desperate and pleading.

"We have to do something," She begged, "We can't—we can’t just wait for him to die like this."

Andrea kept her eyes on the old man, watching as he groaned and whimpered like a helpless wounded animal. She didn't think it was possible, but her heart broke even more. Seeing the poor man writhing around in pain like this, death approaching slowly for him, it was no way for him to die. It was no way for anyone to die.

"He's suffering," She breathed, earning a wide-eyed look from Dale as if he understood her. She instantly put a hand to her mouth and shook her head before turning to look at Rick.

"Do something! Please!" She cried.

The rest of the group watched as Dale began to choke and gurgle, his head jutting from side to side. Blood was flooding his lungs, and he was having difficulty breathing. Rick hovered over the old man and slowly held out his gun, pointing it down between his eyes. Andrea grimaced and turned away with an "oh god," while Kei screwed her eyes shut.

Their leader stood there, staring down at Dale with dread in his eyes, hesitating with every moment he had. He didn't kill the living, he thought. It was a naive notion on his part. He knew he would have to eventually, but he never thought it would end up being one of his own. He never thought it would have to be Dale. Seeing the agonizing pain on Dale's face as his head thrashed about, he knew he had to do it. He was suffering, he had to end it for him. All he had to do was pull the trigger. He'd done it a million times.

But this wasn't an armed criminal. This wasn't a walker. This was Dale, and because of that his index finger just wouldn't move on the trigger.

A dirty hand suddenly covered his, sliding onto the handle of his pistol. He looked forward in shock, Daryl staring as he gently pulled the gun from his leader's hand. Rick took a step back and watched as Daryl knelt down in the grass. Kei glanced over, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before the hunter went back to looking at Dale. Watching as Daryl drew back the hammer with a small _click_ , Kei grabbed Dale's hand and held it tight. The old man glanced at her briefly, his hand shaking in hers. He looked back up at Daryl, lifting his head to meet the barrel and let it press into his forehead. Daryl stared down at him, his expression firm as he took a small breath through his nose.

"Sorry brother,”

Kei watched as Dale kept his glassy eyes on the hunter, staring up at him with trembling lips. She saw them slowly shift, forming an expression that made her eyes widen.

The sudden exploding sound of the gunshot rang through the air. She didn't move a muscle as Dale's body jolted, warm liquid suddenly spritzing on her face. Dale's hand loosened in hers, and then instantly fell limp. Her eyes fluttered shut, the echo from the gunshot still rattling her eardrums. All she could hear through the ringing in her ears were the heart shattering sobs and the pained cries that came from everyone else. She gently placed Dale's hand down and stood up, looking down at the body sprawled out on the grass. Blood trickled down from the hole in his forehead, running down past his fearful eyes and snow white beard.

Daryl stood up and placed the gun back in Rick's shaking hand. Kei took a deep breath through her nose and wiped her face of the blood. She paused as she felt a light nudge at her right leg. She looked down and saw Ren looking up at her, her golden eyes now dulled and solemn as she let out a whimper. She was fully aware that the old man in the fisherman's cap was gone, and that her master was upset. Kei knelt down and wrapped her arms around Ren's neck, nuzzling into her thick fur. Tears began to pour out, and her soft cries went to full on sobbing. The reality of her friend's death finally hit, and it hit her hard.


	15. Better Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He scaring you?" Lori asked.
> 
> “No one scares me,” The girl answered, her response a little too quick and defensive for her own taste, “He just…makes me unconfomfortable…and pisses me off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Sorry for the delay. It was an odd couple of weeks for me. hehe  
> but! I'm back. woo!  
> and did anyone else see the Season 4 trailer yet? I died. DIED, I SAY.  
> Ugh. It's gonna be so crazy, and SO GOOD. I can tell.
> 
> October can't come soon enough.  
> 3 more months, kids! xx

The next morning was quiet. Everyone sat down at the campfire and ate. Quiet. Around breakfast time, people wandered about and did their own thing, some helping with chores, others meandering around their tents. Quiet. The men all helped dig a large grave placed next to Sophia and Hershel’s family. Quiet. The female half of the group watched as the men gently placed Dale’s body into its new resting place. After they all stepped out and piled on the fresh dirt, the women all came forward. They had gathered flowers and rocks to decorate his grave with.  Lori, Carol, and Maggie laid down some daisies and buttercups while Beth and Patricia set up a little stone pile in the shape of a cross. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=63430224&lid=1950767) was the last one to go. She stepped forward and knelt down, looking at the stone cross in sadness. She set down a bouquet of lavender and black eyed Susans, placing one hand on the fresh dirt.

 _“Thank you Dale,”_ She thought to herself, _“Thank you so much, for everything.”_

She wiped her eyes on her sweater sleeve and stood back up, walking back to her original spot next to Daryl. She took a deep shaky breath and held her arms, keeping her eyes fixed on the dirt mound now half covered in flowers.

"Dale could...could get under your skin," Rick sighed, "He sure got under mine…because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare… and brave…"

The dark haired girl looked around for a moment. She watched as Carl wiped his eyes and hugged his mother close. Andrea just kept her eyes to the dirt while Carol wiped her nose on a tissue and sniffled. The men all stayed silent, showing obvious remorse, and a few tears coming from Glenn.

"Whenever I'd make a decision…I'd look at Dale, and…he'd be lookin at me with that look he had," He paused before smiling lightly, "We've all seen it, one time or another."

Kei's mouth formed a small smile. She knew that look alright. Everyone knew that look.

"I couldn't always read him, but he could read us," He continued on, "He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are...In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group is broken…the best way to honor him is to unbreak it. We set aside our differences, pull together."

Hearing that made Kei glance over at Shane. The man kept his dark eyes glued to the grave, his expression harsh.

"It's time to stop feeling sorry about ourselves," He spoke, "It's time to start taking control of our lives, our safety, and our future...We're not broken, and we're gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale..."

Nothing else was said. Slowly, the group members wandered back to the campsite, chores needing to be done and preperations that needed to be made.

Kei stayed behind, sniffling lightly as she stood over the grave alone. It was a hard morning for her. Dale wasn't there for breakfast. He didn't pet Ren happily like he did every morning while they huddled around the campfire. He wasn't there, and he wasn't going to be there, or anywhere with them ever again.

Her short hair bowled around her face as a gentle breeze flowed by. She pushed her bangs back, suddenly noticing that someone in fact had stayed behind with her.

"Y'alright?" She heard a husky voice call softly.

She turned her head, looking over at Daryl. He had on a solemn look and his crossbow was hanging off his shoulder. She sniffed lightly and wiped her eyes, holding her arms as she turned back to look at the grave.

"It's just hard," She admitted, "Losing someone you care so much about…I still can’t believe he’s gone."

Daryl walked up and stood beside her, looking down at the grave, then over to her with slightly narrowed eyes.

"...Some things happen for a reason," He explained, "The old man dyin’ helped fixed this group a little. Gave ‘em the push they needed."

She sniffled again and wiped her teary eyes.

"…You know, I…I think he knew that," She spoke, turning her head to look at him. His expression didn't change, he simply stared, waiting for her to explain further.

"He smiled," She remarked, "Didn't you see it? That night, after you said sorry, he smiled faintly at you."

She watched as his eyes fell to the dirt before looking back at the grave. She looked back at it as well,

"Yeah," She heard him admit quietly beside her, "Yeah I saw it..."

A light smile appeared on her lips and she wiped her eyes again. The memory of the old man's light smile and fearful eyes that night. She'll never forget that look, the way he willingly raised his head to Rick's gun. He was ready there. In that exact moment, he accepted everything as a whole, like his wife had done long ago. He was finally with his wife now, and just the thought of that managed to help a little.

Her left hand reached over, her fingertips gently snaking their way across Daryl's right palm. Her fingers slid their way between his own and she held his hand firmly. She kept her eyes on Dale's grave, not looking once at the hunter. She just watched, watched and smiled at the feel of calloused fingertips gently curling over her knuckles, his hand holding her own right back.

She turned and began to walk back to camp, Daryl following close beside her. Their hands were still holding together, neither one of them acknowledging the small yet intimate gesture. Kei turned her head to look at him as they continued to walk. Daryl looked at her, watching as she smiled warmly at him. He scoffed at her and looked away, failing horribly at hiding the half smile on his face.

"Daryl!"

The two turned, seeing Shane walk up in that harsh and chaotic way like he always did. Daryl's hand instantly loosened and Kei let go completely. The girl lost her smile and her eyes grew dark. She stepped back a couple times, much like her wolves would when someone they didn't like approached them. Daryl glanced at her, his eyebrows knitting together. Her eyes were dead set on Shane, her lips curled slightly, her expression almost viscious. Her demeanor changed completely, and before he could ask what was wrong, Shane spoke out once again,

"Rick wants us to head out and check the perimeter round the farm," He announced, “Andrea and T-Dog are gettin ready to go. We gotta make sure there aren’t any more of those things around to get at us.”

He glanced over at Kei, who continued to stare with blatant hatred. Since Daryl was there, he decided to hide his own blatant hatred for her and spoke to her in a more welcoming tone,

"You comin with, sunshine?"

The image of his fingers wrapped around her neck flashed across her mind. She didn't answer. Her nose merely wrinkled and her eyes stared coldy at him as she stepped past. She headed back to camp, leaving the two men to watch her walk back alone. Shane turned and looked back at Daryl, scoffing at her behavior.

"What's her problem?" He asked, trying to sound as confused and innocent as possible. Daryl didn't buy it. He just stared over at him, his eyes narrowing,

"Dunno," He answered, "She was just fine ‘till you walked up."

Their eyes watched each other for a moment, carefully observing one another, waiting for the other to say something or make a move and start something. Daryl merely brushed past and headed back to camp. With a small scoff, Shane followed after him.

As Kei stalked up to camp by herself, she noticed Lori putting supplies back inside a cardboard box. She glanced over at the truck outside the farmhouse, seeing Andrea, Daryl, and T-Dog readying their gear. Lori glanced over as well, and then back over to Kei,

"You going with the others?"

The dark haired girl paused for a moment and turned around, watching as Lori walked over with a laundry basket full of blankets. Kei shook her head no and walked up next to her, watching as she set it down at the farmhouse porch steps.

"I’d rather help around here," She reasoned while grabbing the basket. She lifted it up and started to make her way up the steps, Lori following close behind.

"It's not because of Daryl, is it?" She asked, a genuine look of concern etched on her face.

"Oh no,” Kei answered simply as they entered the house, "It's just Shane. I‘m not too fond of him right now."

"He scaring you?" Lori asked.

“No one scares me,” The girl answered, her response a little too quick and defensive for her own taste, “He just…makes me unconfomfortable…and pisses me off.”

Lori shook her head and scoffed, looking down as the girl set the basket down in the corner.

"Yeah well, no arguing with ya there," She reasoned.

Kei looked to her and smiled lightly, placing a hand on her skinny shoulder.

 “I’ll go get the rest of your stuff,” She offered.

Lori nodded with a small “thanks” and watched as the girl brushed past and headed out onto the porch. Once outside, Kei glanced over at Daryl and watched as he hopped in and sat down on the bed of the truck. His crossbow was standing loyally at his side as T-Dog hopped in and sat down next to him. Shane started the engine and revved it. Shoving it in gear, the truck jumped once before pushing forward. As they sped off towards the fences, Daryl's eyes couldn't help but stare over at the lithe Asian pixie on the porch.

 

After the others returned from securing the perimeter, Hershel had called everyone around the truck. He told the group that he made a decision: that it would be safer if they all stayed in the house. All fourteen people in one house would be a tight fit, but with the nights getting colder and winter fast approaching, sleeping outside was not an option. “Not while I still have a conscience,” the farmer would say. Plus with the lake freezing over, and with a ton of cattle on land, they were just begging for walkers to come in and stay for a meal. They were going to need as much man power as possible.

Kei sat in her tent and began packing up all her things, shoving whatever clothes she had in her duffle and rolling up her blankets and sleeping bag. Standing back to her feet, she gathered up her backpack and her blankets. She then headed out of her tent and back to the farmhouse. She heard Rick talking to everyone as she walked up, giving the men assignments to secure the area while Hershel and the women helped load the farmhouse.

She smiled lightly at him, and watched as the others worked together casually to bring their stuff inside. Box by box and bag by bag, the group began to load the house with supplies. In and out like ants on an ant hill, everyone worked together to stock up the house and unload the vehicles.

Kei had left her car untouched. She kept having this nagging feeling, and it had been bothering her since this morning. She decided to humor herself just for tonight and have her car ready for whatever reason. Hershel tried to figure out who got which rooms and who got to occupy areas of the house. Due to Lori's condition, The Grimes family (along with Ame, because he and Carl were inseperable at this point) got Hershel's bedroom. Maggie tried to convince Glenn to stay in her room, but for some reason he just refused and placed his things on the couch. Ren, Daryl, Shane, and T-Dog had the living room, and Patricia decided to share her room with Carol and Andrea.

Kei had moved her things to Beth’s room, the young blonde seeming more than happy to share a room with her. She let Beth keep the bed while she took the floor, setting her stuff in the corner and out of the way,

"Kei?!" Lori’s voice called from downstairs.

The girl got up and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She found Lori by the dining room doorway, a large black milk crate in her arms. She held it out to the girl as she approached,

"Can you take this out to the truck?” She asked, “The boys need the supplies. They’re letting Randall go today.”

The dark haired girl nodded and took it from her, walking out to the front porch. The blue ford was parked right at the bottom, T-Dog and Daryl already there and waiting for her.

“Bout time, girl,” Daryl scoffed, “My clothes are goin' outta style.”

“They already are, Dixon,” She teased, earning a hearty laugh from T-Dog. Daryl smirked in approval, pushing himself off the truck and walking up to her. Taking the crate from her hands, he turned around and slid it into the bed of the truck. Kei shoved her hands in her pockets, leaning on the side of the truck.

"So,” She chirped simply, “You guys are really letting Randall go."

She glanced over from T-Dog to Daryl, watching as he loaded Dale’s gun and placed it on the inside of his belt.

"Looks like it," He answered, simply. T-Dog closed up the tailgate and pulled on it a couple times to make sure it was secure.

"You guys ready?"

The three turned to see Rick walking up. Daryl grabbed his crossbow as Rick walked around Kei,

"I'll go get the package," T-Dog offered. Kei watched as the man reached in his pocket and walked off. She continued to lean on the truck and watch as Rick put another bag in the back,

"I'm glad you're going through with this,” She admitted out, “Really. It means a lot.”

He turned and looked over at her with a nod,

"Yeah well, you and Dale were right in the first place,” He replied honestly, “And I think it's better for all of us. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

A warm smile appeared on her face. However, it faded when she saw T-Dog rush out from the side of the house.

"Guys?! You might wanna come see this!”

 

"What's wrong!?" Maggie called out.

Lori and the others came running towards the shed. Kei was the first to step out and walked up to them, turning every which way and looking around.

"Randal's missing,” She announced, turning around to look back at the shed.

"Missing? How!?" Maggie asked.

"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked. T-Dog shook his head,

"It’s hard to say,”

"Cuffs are still hooked," Rick mentioned as he walked out of the shed, "He must’ve slipped em."

"Is that possible?" Carol asked, worry mixed with surprise in her voice. Andrea stepped out of the shed as well and looked around.

"It is if you've got nothin to lose,"

“The door was secured from the outside,” Hershel mentioned, examining the lock on the front door.

"W-Well what're we gonna do?" Glenn asked, looking over to Rick with panicked eyes.

"We go find him, simple as that," Kei answered. The leader rubbed his mouth with a frutrated sigh as his eyes fell to the dirt.

"Rick!"

Everyone heard a loud and frantic shout. Ren and Ame perked up and looked around every which way.

"Rick!"

Kei turned around sharply, her eyes widening when she saw Shane trudging out from the forest. Blood was covering his face from the bridge of his nose on down. Lori's eyes widened as she rushed up, only to stop halfway.

"What happened!?" She asked out frantically.

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" The disgruntled man barked.

"You okay!?" Carl asked out.

"I'm fine!” Shane yelled, “Little bastard just snuck up on me and clocked me in the face!"

Rick turned around sharply, his face chaotic and unwavering,

"Alright, Hershel! T-Dog! Get everyone back in the house! Glenn, Daryl, come with us!"

"T! I’mma need that gun!"

Shane marched up to T-Dog and the man handed over his pistol. Kei watched as Daryl hurriedly placed one of his handmade arrows in his crossbow. He stepped forward to walk on with Rick, but Kei’s hands impulsively reached out and held his wrist, gently tugging him back to stop for a moment. He turned around and stared over at her worried look.

“Just let him go, that was the plan, wasn’t it? To just let him go?!” Carol asked, her tone heightened in slight panic.

“The plan was to cut him loose far away from here,” Rick snapped back at her, “Not on our front step with a gun!”

Daryl’s lips twisted to the side a little as he moved his wrist away and gripped her hand instead, the gesture letting her know that it was going to be okay, and his expression promising that he’d be back soon. She bit her lip and let go as he fully turned to join Shane and Glenn.

“Don’t go out there! Y’all know what can happen!” Carol yelped.

“Get everyone back in the house, lock all the doors, and stay put!” The leader shouted while walking off quickly towards the the forest. Kei watched with a worried expression as Daryl, Glenn, and Shane followed closely beside Rick, entering the woods to go find Randall.

“Alright let’s go, let’s go, in the house!” Andrea called.

T-Dog and Andrea helped round up the group and quickly herded them back to the house, locking all the doors behind them.

 

 

Hours went by. The sun had gone down behind the mountains and the moon had come up in its place. The group all sat there in tense silence, waiting for one—no, all of the men in the forest to return with good news.

Hopefully, good news.

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=61044963&lid=1950767) stood in the living room and stared out the window, looking for any sign of life out there in the forest. The rest sat around on the couches and chairs silently. Ren and Ame were outside on the porch, guarding the farmhouse door intently.

“I’m going after them,” Andrea announced. She stood up to walk forward, but Lori beat her to it,

“Don’t,” She let out sternly, “They could be anywhere. And if Randall comes back, we’re gonna need you here.”

Just then, the front door swung open and a set of footsteps walked inside. Everyone turned to see Daryl and Glenn walking in, the two of them alive and unscathed. Kei let out an audible sigh of relief, as did Maggie as she rushed up to him.

“Rick and Shane ain’t back?” Daryl asked while looking around the room.

“No,” Lori answered with a shake of her head.

“We heard a shot,” Daryl remarked.

“Well maybe they found Randall,” Lori reasoned. Daryl shook his head,

“We found him,”

“Is he back in the shed?” Patricia asked. Daryl glanced at her, and then back to Lori,

“He’s a Walker.”

“Did you find the Walker that bit him?” Hershel asked. Glenn looked at him, his eyes muddled with confusion,

“No, the weird thing is…he wasn’t bit,”

“His neck was broke,” Daryl finished. Kei’s eyebrows knitted together as everyone else fell silent.

“So he fought back,” Patricia spoke, fiddling with her necklace in anxiousness.

“The thing is, Shane and Randall’s tracks were right on top of each other,” Daryl explained with narrowed eyes, “And Shane ain’t no tracker, so he didn’t come up behind him...They were together.”

Lori walked up to him and clasped her hands together, putting them in front of her mouth,

“Could you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane, and find out what on earth is goin on?”

Daryl nodded his head without hesitation and shouldered his crossbow,

“You got it,”

Lori gave him a small thank you and sighed as Daryl walked off into the dining room. Glenn and Andrea followed after him, the three of them getting ready to go back out there. Kei perked up when she heard barking from outside. It wasn't their usual warning for walkers or enemies, it was different. She turned around and looked out the window before walking over to the door,

“Where are you going?” Lori asked out, turning towards her with a worried look in her face. Kei put her hand on the door handle,

“I’m just stepping out to see what they're barking about,” She answered, “It might be Rick and Shane.”

Lori’s lips twisted to the side as she gave her a small nod. Kei opened up the door and stepped out onto the porch, shivering a little as the cold night air brushed up against her. Her dark eyes strained to see through the dark for Rick and Shane. Nothing.

She turned to see her two companions jump straight up onto their paws and growl out towards the darkness. Her eyebrows knitted together.

“What’s the matter, guys?”

They huffed in response before their growling ceased. Silence. She looked up briefly and then turned around to head back into the house, but just then, something in the corner of her eye grabbed her attention.

She turned her head and stared out towards the barn. Something, or rather a number of somethings were staggering out from the treeline of the forest...

And they were heading in her direction.

Her eyes narrowed, looking closely before realizing what in fact it was. She let out an audible _“oh shit”_ , her eyes widening and her muscles tensing as her mind reeled and raced. She jumped a little as Ren and Ame barked and snarled violently, the noise seeming to snap her out of her daze. Wheeling around on her heel, she quickly bolted back into the house. The sound of her feet thumping against the wood floors made everyone look in her direction as she entered the living room.

“Walkers!” She hissed out, as if they could hear her from a mile away, “A whole herd of them. They’re everywhere out there!”

Everyone’s eyes widened. Glenn, Daryl and Andrea rushed past her in a blur, quickly heading out the door. Kei turned and followed them, everyone else following suit. Running out onto the porch, the four quickly stopped and stared out at the large horde that was fast approaching. Hershel walked in front and stared out at the barn, the disbelief on his face matching the others. He turned back around and looked to Patricia, his voice soft in a whisper,

“Patricia, kill the lights,”

“I’ll get the guns,” Andrea announced lowly. She and Patricia turned and ran back into the house. Kei looked over to Daryl, her eyes wide and her breathing getting heavier by the second,

“What do we do?” She asked quickly, "Should we make a run for it?"

“Maybe they’re just passing, like the herd on the highway,” Glenn suggested, “Should we just go inside?”

Daryl looked to Glenn,

“Unless there’s a tunnel downstairs I don’ know about, a herd that size could rip the house down,”

He looked back out towards the barn, his eyes scanning the walkers while his mind raced to formulate a plan. Lori came rushing out of the house, her hand to her heart.

“Carl’s gone!” She let out.

The four turned to see her eyes wide with hysterics,

“What?” Daryl asked out.

“H-he was upstairs, I can’t find him anymore,” She said frantically.

“Maybe he’s hiding,” Glenn offered.

“He’s supposed to be upstairs, I’m not leaving without my boy!” Lori yelped.

“We’re not,” Carol assured firmly, “We’re gonna—we’re gonna look again, and we’re gonna find him!”

She grabbed Lori’s hand and the two went back into the house to find Carl. Glenn put a hand to his forehead in distress and muttered something in Korean. Andrea weaved around them and set the gun bag down on the floor. She opened it up in haste and everyone began to distribute guns. Maggie picked up a rifle and handed it over to Glenn. He took it and stared over at her in surprise.

“Maggie,” He let out, watching as she hastily loaded her shot gun with ease.

“Yeah well ya grow up country, ya pick up a thing or two,” She spoke, turning her head to look at Kei, “We might need your archery skills for this. The more ammo, the better.”

“Right,” The girl chirped with a nod. She ran back inside and hurried up to Beth’s room. She quickly grabbed her weapons and slung on her rucksack, rushing back outside onto the porch. Kei looked over to Andrea and watched as she handed over her gun. She took her hand gun with a nod and loaded a clip as everyone else continued loading their weapons.

“What’s the plan, guys?” Kei repeated as she drew the slide back, “Are we staying or going?”

“You can go if you want,” Hershel offered as he loaded a shotgun, stuffing his pockets full of shells. Daryl looked over at him with his eyes narrowed,

“You gonna take em all on?”

“We have guns, we have cars,” Hershel spoke.

“Kill as many as we can,” Andrea planned while loading her gun and cocking it back, “We’ll use the cars and the wolves to lead the rest off the farm.”

The blonde turned her head and looked over at Kei,

“Ren and Ame up for a workout?”

The dark haired girl nodded with an audible “Yeah,” as she tucked her handgun in her holster.

“You serious?” Daryl asked the old farmer. Hershel stared at him, eyes determined.

“This is my farm,” He said firmly, cocking his shotgun in the process, “I’ll die here.”

Daryl nodded lightly and couldn’t help but smirk as he sat up on the railing,

“Alright, it’s as good a night as any,”

He held up his crossbow as he leaned over and swung his legs over the side, landing onto the ground and rushing for his bike. Kei turned and looked down at Ren and Ame. Their backs were arched, ears pointed forward, and their faces scrunched up into a foul snarl. They were ready for her to give the word, to take them all on, and protect what was theirs.

“ _Wrangle them up!_ ” She commanded, “ _Go!_ ”


	16. Beside The Dying Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We can't just leave ‘em,” He argued.
> 
> "We don't even know if they're there," Lori reasoned.
> 
> "They're not there," Rick said firmly, "They're not. They're somewhere else, or they're dead. There's no way to find them."

The fight seemed to rage on for ages. The group wasn’t even making a dent. Walkers just kept coming, pouring out from the forest and the fields. Whenever one creature would fall, another would come take its place. Glenn and Maggie took the hyundai while T-Dog and Andrea took the truck. Jimmy followed suit in the RV. The five of them sped around the fence in a frenzy, firing out from their windows. They tried wrangling the walkers to the best of their ability, but it was no use.

The bike bumped up and down harshly as he drove through the uneven landscape. Coming to a stop in the grass, Daryl planted his feet on the dirt and stood up. He held out his gun, firing at the Walkers on the other side of the wire fence. He watched as heads flew back and skulls burst open with each shot. He could hear the cars roaring and the wolves barking over the mass of hissing. He heard an extra gunshot go off and from the corner of his eye he saw a walker fly back. The creature fell to the cold grass with a soft thud, revealing Kei standing behind with her gun out. Her eyes were wide and wild, all this action making her heart race and her breathing quicken.

"Come on, let's get goin!" Daryl called after her.

Kei put her gun away and tightened the straps on her rucksack. She ran up to him and quickly swung her leg over the back, sitting down and resting her sword on her knees. She scooted forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding on tight as the bike took off. Clasping onto Daryl's shoulder with one hand, she carefully shouldered her sword with the other. Pulling out her gun again, she aimed it steadily at the various Walkers they passed. Managing to take down four in the head, Daryl came to a stop to take his turn. Kei got off the bike completely.

Raising her gun, she walked towards the wired fence and began shooting Walkers down. Daryl saw her getting further away with every step she took towards the horde.  He sat back down and kicked down on the gear shift, pushing forward and taking off towards her.

"Come on let's go!" He yelled out. He pulled up next to her as she shot the last bullet out of her pistol. She quickly took out out the clip and replaced it with a full one.

"I'll stay on foot!" She announced loudly, "You go!"

"I ain't leavin ya behind!" He barked, "It's too hairy, now get on the damn bike!"

Kei shoved her handgun back into her holster and turned, reaching in back of her to grasp the handle of her Katana. She stared over at him with a faint smile,

"Don't worry,” She assured, “I'm fast, clever too, remember?"

Even with the dimmed lighting from the moon, she could see Daryl's hesitant look. His jaw moved up and down in anxiety and quick thought. The walkers were coming in fast behind him, and there wasn't nearly enough time to argue with her.

"Fine!" He let out, "But you be careful! I'm serious!"

She gave him a small salute before drawing her sword and turning around, taking on a Walker that was staggering towards her. Daryl glanced at her back one last time as she slashed a Walker's head off.  His eyes shot over to the wire fence. A group of Walkers had toppled over and managed to break it, giving the other walkers easy access. As a couple of them neared him, he quickly revved the engine with a small huff and took off towards Jimmy and the Winnebago.

 

Kei saw a bright orange light out of the corner of her eye. She turned around sharply to see fire engulfing the inside of the barn. The whole thing had suddenly went up in flames, and the Walkers began mindlessly wandering towards it like moths.

The Winnebago came roaring across the dirt road and barreled down towards the barn. So distracted by what was going on, she had almost forgotten about the horde of flesh eaters that surrounded her. She felt a steely hand latch on to her shoulder and her eyes widened. She turned herself around sharply, a female walker gnashing its drooling and bloody jaws at her. She ripped herself from its grasp and swung her sword around, slicing its head apart in one go. She flicked her sword to the side and took off running, trying her best to avoid cars and wolves and walking corpses. It was complete chaos right now, she needed to find the others and try to get them to safety. 

The Walkers were coming in from all directions, giving Kei less time to really think as she maneuvered around. She ran through a small pack of them in order to get towards the house, slicing them away as she ran by. She came to a complete stop when the pack began bunching up and blocked her path. She rose her sword and ran at them. She had managed to run her weapon through the heads of two walkers at the same time. She kicked them in the chest and turned around, swiftly slicing a walkers head off. She turned in the opposite direction and mimicked the same actions, cutting and slicing at limbs and skulls before she finally broke through.

Once she was in the clear, she made a beeline towards the farmhouse. She saw Hershel standing on the side, shooting down the Walkers that continued to mindlessly stalk towards him. She stopped to look for any sign of the others, but she could barely see anyone in the dark, let alone hear them over all the hisses and groans.

A bloodcurling scream reached her ears. Her head whipped around and she saw Carol being cornered by the shed, Walkers slowly staggering towards her. They were closing in on her, and she only had a broken plank of wood to defend herself. With wide eyes and a racing heart, Kei broke out into a mad sprint and ran straight for her.

"Help!" Carol screamed as the walker came in close, "SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!" 

Her desperate cries made Kei's heart thump faster and her legs push harder against the ground. She leapt in front of the terrified woman and swung her blade around like a bat, slicing half of the walker’s head off.

"Kei, Andrea!" She heard the woman cry out from behind, “Andrea went down!"

The dark haired girl looked down, seeing a corpse on top of Andrea's. She couldn't tell if she was dead or not, but she wasn't just going to stand there and wait to see. She sprinted forward to check on her, stopping as two Walkers rushed in front at her and blocked her path. One of them swung out at her face, almost scratching her nose, but she jumped back and stumbled a little. She quickly turned and grabbed onto Carol's hand, holding it for dear life. She didn't know about Andrea, but she knew that Carol was alive, and she needed protection.

"This way, come on!"

Kei tugged the panicked woman along as they ran down the driveway. They managed to reach a small spot temporarily clear of walkers, giving them only a moment to breathe and recover. The two women stopped and Kei quickly pulled out her handgun, lending it over to Carol,

"I need you to take this and take them out," She instructed firmly, looking into the woman’s wild eyes, "Carol, we need to keep our heads and stick together! Can you do that!?" Carol nodded, her eyes wide in hysterics as she drew back the slide. Another walker was coming fast towards the dark haired girl as she nodded.

"Good, now stay with me!" She yelled, turning and swinging her sword around to decapitate the walker.

The two began to back up, their hands still connected as Kei jabbed a walker in the skull with her sword. Carol let go of the girl's hand and pointed her gun at an armless walker woman, shooting the creature in the ear before firing again and hitting its skull. The sound of bullets rang in Kei's ears as she continued to slash and cut down walkers left and right. She was so focused on the enemies in front of her, she had almost missed the walker coming up a little behind Carol. The woman had shot down another walker trying to charge at her, oblivious to the oncoming enemy.  Kei turned and yelled for Carol to duck, the woman lunging down without hesitation as the long slab of metal swung around. Her blade swung across and cut through the head of the Walker, slicing the top half of its head clean off and sending the body plummeting to the ground.

"I'm out!!" Carol cried as she stood up, checking her pockets pointlessly for another clip.

The two women turned around quickly when they heard screeching tires. They watched as the cars drove away one by one, speeding off in different directions. Kei watched them disappear into the night with wide eyes, turning back around when she heard Carol scream. A walker had lunged at the woman, and without missing a beat Kei grabbed the woman by the lip of her jeans. She yanked Carol back and twirled herself around, the two switching places in one fluid motion. She swung her sword violently into a sideways arc. The Walker's head flew off and the body fell to the ground. She yanked the poor woman back and stabbed the walker in front of her in the skull, lifting her leg up and kicking the creature back with amazing force.

Carol's breathing became unsteady and she began to cry as they continued to back away from the pack of oncoming Walkers. Kei's eyebrows knitted as she gritted her teeth. All her escape plans began failing in her head. She tried her best to keep a level head, but without her car to get away, without Ren and Ame here to try and distract, any hope of getting her and Carol out of here in one piece was looking slim. She grunted out a small swear and latched onto Carol's hand once again, her free hand gripping the handle of her sword tightly.

"Come on!"

Carol tried her best to keep up as Kei drug her through the small pack, slicing down walkers left and right before finally breaking free. The two women ran down the large dirt driveway, another slew of Walkers not too far behind. Kei's ears picked up the sound of Daryl's motorcycle and she turned, seeing the headlights of his bike charging towards them. A wave of relief washed over her as Daryl's bike skidded to a stop in front of them.

“Come on! I ain’t got all day!” He barked.

Kei quickly helped Carol onto the bike. The woman wrapped her bony arms around Daryl and latched onto to him for dear life. Daryl quickly lifted his handun and told Kei to duck, shooting a Walker right in the skull as it started to reach for Kei’s back. Kei turned around sharply, seeing the horde in that chaotic field headed in her direction. Ren and Ame were gnashing at various Walker’s legs, barking madly to try and draw them away.

"Kei, get on!" She heard Daryl yell, "Hurry up!"

She turned and looked back to the seat. There was barely any room for her and her bag. The weight would be too much for the bike. It was risky, dangerous even. If she got on, they wouldn’t make it.

Looking back over at him, she took a breath and shook her head no,

"You go on!” She spoke out, “Three’s too much, we won’t get far!”

"Don't be stupid!" He seethed, "Get your ass on this bike, now!"

She looked back over her shoulder. These walkers were faster than usual, and way more riled up. Chances were they would follow them to the bitter end. If a horde that size had managed to do so, then it wasn't just her who had hell to pay, it was her whole group. Her mind raced with options, trying to quickly come to a solution. She closed her eyes, screwing them shut tight as Daryl's voice yammered for her to get on the bike. She tried to block out the muffled noise as she made a decision.

His bike wouldn't have been able to hold three anyway.

"It won't matter!" She barked out, looking to Daryl as he stopped mid-sentence.

"If we leave, they'll follow us," She assured, "You’ll be too slow with three! Get Carol out, get her to safety and try to find the others! I'll draw them away!"

"You outta your damn mind!?" He yelled, "I ain't leavin you here! Now get your ass on this bike!"

Kei wouldn't listen. She shook her head no, her mind officially made up and dedicated to her plan. Without hesitation, she placed her hands on either side of his face and leaned in, quickly pressing her lips to his own. Her eyes screwed shut. She prayed for him and Carol to be safe, and to make it to the others. Pulling away quickly, she stared into his steely blue eyes and gave him her biggest smile, even if it was faulty, and did nothing to conceal the fearful look in her big dark eyes.

She knew that this might be the last time they will ever each other, maybe in days, weeks, nothing was certain. Who knew, they may never meet again after this, and normally that thought would’ve terrified her. It would have had her leaping onto the bike and wrapping her arms around him for dear life. But that wasn't the case now.

Her fear had been shoved aside, and replaced with the determination and bravery that her family had taught her to possess. She had others to look out for right now, and she was going to look out for them, by whatever means necessary.

If that meant distracting a horde of flesh eaters for them to get away, then so be it.

"It's okay," She assured, her breathing heavy and rapid, "I'm gonna be fine, I promise. I'll be fine. Now go. Go!"

She pushed Daryl gently, urging him to move on as she backed away. He shook his head no, leaning to get off his bike as she turned and ran towards the fence,

"Hey! Hey! Hey over here!" She shouted out, "C’MON! OVER HERE! HEY!"

She whistled loudly for her wolves to come to her aid and let off only two shots with her handgun, running straight for the oncoming horde. He started getting off his bike to go after her,

"Kei! You fucking idiot!" He shouted after her, "Get back over here now! Kei!!"

He was about to get off the bike, but Carol latched onto his jacket and tugged at it for dear life.

"Daryl we have to go!" She yelled, staring up at Daryl’s torn look, "Daryl please! They're getting too close!!"

Rotted hands were just barely in arms reach, and Carol let out a cry when Daryl slammed his foot down on the gear shift. He sat down, revved the bike, and pushed forward; taking off down the dirt road with only a couple walkers attempting to go after them.

 

Daryl's bike sped down the highway through the morning fog, the throttle on full blast. Carol sat on the seat behind him, her face gently pressed against his back. He had managed to find the blue Ford and the small green hyundai down the road a ways, each carrying Lori, Beth, T-Dog, Maggie, and Glenn. Together they made their way back to the highway. Daryl slowed his bike down as he weaved through the graveyard of cars, spotting the Red Chevy just up ahead.

Pulling into the median and onto the other side of the highway, he spotted Rick, Hershel, and Carl running beside Hershel's truck. Getting out in front, Rick stepped out of the way as Daryl pulled up, him shutting off the bike and letting Carol off.

The leader walked up and grabbed Daryl's hand, giving it a quick and firm shake before running to Lori. Carl practically leapt into his mother's arms, Lori grasping him in a tight hug. Everyone began hugging and greeting each other, thankful that they were alive and made it out. Daryl stepped off his bike and looked over to the Chevy, waiting for a spindly Asian girl with a pair of wolves to step out.

But Kei's smiling self never appeared, and that made his stomach drop.

He placed his hands on his hips, his jaw bobbing up and down as his eyes fell to the ground. She didn't make it. She didn't get out in time. That stupid girl. Why did she have to go off and be a hero like that?! Why the hell did he let her go off like that?!

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked, his voice bringing the hunter back to the highway with the rest of his group.

Daryl's head flicked back over to him,

"Well, those guy's taillights zig-zaggin all over the road," The hunter scoffed, "Figured he had to be Asian, drivin like that."

Glenn laughed to himself and nodded with a smile,

"Good one,"

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked, wanting someone to answer about Kei and her pets.

"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick answered.

"Shane?" Lori stood up, looking over to her husband for an answer. Rick looked down and shook his head, not saying a word.

"Andrea?” Glenn asked, looking from Lori to T-Dog.

"She saved me then I lost her," Carol answered.

"We saw her go down…" T-Dog added, his eyes lowering at the memory of it. Hershel looked to T-Dog,

"Patricia?"

"They got her too," Beth choked as she gripped Maggie's hand tight, "Took her right from me, I was… I was holdin onto her, Daddy. I was, she just—”

Beth curled up in her father’s arms as she began to cry, the man holding her tight as he kissed her head,

"What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?" She asked, her doll-like blue eyes looking to each member of the group.

"He was in the RV, it got overrun…" Rick answered, solemnly looking at the tiny blonde in Hershel’s arms. Carl's big blue-green eyes looked around for a minute before realization struck him like lightning. He swallowed and looked up at everyone with worry on his face,

"W-Where’s Kei?" He asked out, everyone dead silent in response,"W-Where’s Kei and Ame? And Ren?”  

Everyone looked around at each other, eyes unintentionally falling to Daryl. The hunter looked at the ground, his jaw bobbing light.

“She sacrificed herself for Daryl and I to get away," Carol admitted, her hand instantly latching to her necklace in anxiety. Maggie’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped with her heart.

"W-wait, you don’t mean…She didn't—"

"She saved Carol and got her on the bike," Daryl explained, his voice low, "I tried gettin’ her on too, but she kept saying three was too much and that it’d slow us down for the walkers. She ran off with the wolves, started drawin the Walkers away so we could get out of there.”

Carl’s eyes began to water and his little face scrunched up. He quickly buried his head into his mother’s arms and began crying. Rick put his head down, as well as a few others,

"Did anyone see Andrea or Kei get away?" Carol asked as she looked to Lori for an answer,

"There were Walkers everywhere…" The brunette shook her head and Carol looked to everyone,

"Anyone? Did anyone see them?"

No one said a word, making their answer pretty clear to the small woman. Daryl huffed and grabbed onto the handlebars of his bike,

"I'm gonna go back,"

"No," Rick demanded. Daryl looked over at him, furrowing and shaking his head.

"We can't just _leave ‘em_ ,” He argued, "Damn girls just risked their necks to save us. We gotta go ba--"

"We don't even know if they're there," Lori reasoned.

"They're not there," Rick said firmly, "They're not. They're somewhere else, or they're dead. There's no way to find them."

"So we're not even going to look for them?" Glenn asked in shock, "Rick—”

"We gotta keep movin," The leader replied firmly, "There've been Walkers crawlin all over here…"

"I say head east," T-Dog offered, staring over at Rick as he leaned off the truck. Daryl let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to his bike, grabbing his crossbow off the back. He spotted a Walker a few cars down headed their way,

"Stay off the main roads," He spoke out, "The bigger the road, the more Walkers, more assholes like this one. I got him."

Raising his crossbow, he targeted the Walker’s head and pulled the trigger, sending an arrow through the Walker’s eye.

 

The engines sputtered to a start and everyone doubled back onto the other side of the highway. Carol held onto Daryl tight as he maneuvered the bike around the cars, following closely behind Rick and his family in the red chevy. Kei’s smiling face had haunted his mind as he sped down the road, the sound of howling wolves echoing in his memory. He tried to tell himself that she was alright and that she made it out, but the heavy, aching feeling in his chest just wouldn't go away. A part of him told him to think realistically, a girl like her against a whole horde of walkers. Sure she was fast, but she could only run for so long. Hell, all she had to do was trip and it'd be over for her. She was probably being torn apart right now.

He shook his head and sped up, passing the Red Chevy and the Hyundai to get in front. He needed to focus, to feel wind and road, anything to get rid of the aching beneath his ribcage.

 

As the group sped off to find new shelter, and a place to build a new life,

a wild girl and her wolves ran through the forest, doing everything they could to find the rest of their pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, I know this chapter is a tad shorter than usual, but I originally had this and the previous chapter combined  
> but for some reason, it looked like a life story's worth of work in Microsoft word so I split it lol.
> 
> AND THAT CONCLUDES SEASON TWO. YAAAAY!  
> onwards to Season 3! Which to be honest, is my favorite to write so far.  
> So much happened in that season on the show, so many emotions and so much character development and ugh <3  
> See you in season 3, cuties. xx


	17. 208 / 365 Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...You know why I'm you telling this?"
> 
> He shook his head, recoiling as she leaned in close, looking straight into his eyes and letting his soul know that she meant her next sentance,
> 
> "Because you fucked up," She hissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hi! Welcome to (technically pre-season) Season 3! Woo!  
> just a friendly heads up, this chapter has a few things that may be triggering/uncomfortable:   
> torture, references of rape, violence, swearing, aaand that's it.

6 months. 24 weeks. 208 days.

It didn't matter how you worded it, it was a long time for the girl and her wolves. Too long.

She had waited long enough.

There were 13 men. Half of them surly, all of them living inside an old roadside bar and grill on a deserted highway. Motorcycles and deceased walker corpses were the only things occupying the parking lot, the living bodies inside the bar all in a drunken uproar. Two wolves laid atop the stairs and watched intently as their master was at the bar, sitting on the lap of an older man with tan leathery skin and a salt and pepper beard. They growled menacingly through their muzzles, clearly homemade from plastic tupperware and leather straps.  [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai_chameleon_soul/set?id=64260245) laughed loudly as she slung an arm around the man’s neck, leaning in and nuzzling her nose with the stranger’s. Her red lips gently pecked the tip of his nose before pointing away to take a puff from the cigarette in her left hand. She lifted her arm off the man and put the cigarette to her lips, giggling as the men around her continued to laugh and joke in a drunken stupor.

“You alright by us, sweetheart,” She heard the man across the bar laugh out. Smokey was his name, and he was the leader of this little motorcycle gang of survivors. He was biggest man with dark sunglasses and a blue bandana. No one ever saw his eyes, not ever.

“This is the life,” One of the other men laughed out, “We still got ourselves some food, ‘shittonna booze…”

“Yeah but not enough cooze, I’ll tell you that much,” A tall man named Flash spoke out.

“Oy! Dago! Why don’t you share, huh?” A lanky looking biker named Goose asked.

All 13 men laughed, holding up their glasses briefly before drinking away and going about their regular conversation. Kei put her cigarette to her lips and took a long drag as a pair of lips touched her earlobe.

“You‘ll provide for us, won‘t you sweetheart?” The man under her rasped in her ear.

A large, calloused hand rubbed her soft thigh, making its way higher and higher towards the hem of her denim shorts. Kei let out a sharp, smokey sigh and reached over to the bar. She took her drink off the counter, daintily sipping the liquor through her straw before turning to look back at the man under her. She smiled mischievously and leaned in, playfully kissing his cheek as she set her drink back down.

She turned to look back at all the men, “13 men though, seems like a lot of work for just one little girl.”

“Maybe you can just give ‘em all a sneak preveiw,” The man under her offered while rubbing her back. Kei’s eyes immediately dropped to the floor as a pair of lips touched her ear, hot breath reeking of stale liquor filling her nose.

“But me, sweetheart?” She heard him slur, “I think I deserve an exclusive show.”

A shiver went up her spine. The image of her topless and bruised on the floor flashed across her memory. She screwed her eyes shut before opening them and turning to face him. A red smile stretched across her lips as she leaned in close.

“You’ve already seen all that there is to see,” She purred.

“But that was only once,” He purred back, scoffing as he continued to rub her thigh.

“Once,” She scoffed out, her voice seductive yet her tone snarky, “And what would you call those times you dragged me to the back by the hair, pinning me to the—”

She let out a small yep as the hand on her thigh gripped tightly, fingers and nails digging into her flesh. Her mouth opened lightly as she let out a strained noise, the pain shooting up and down her leg.

“I’d call that what it was,” He bit lowly, “Was playin' around…You was teasin’ me all those times. You knew what you was doin’. I saved yer life in those woods, woman. Brought you back to our group, gave you and yer mutts a real taste of southern hospitality. I was the only real man you’d seen in months. You was juss achin' to repay me for my good works.”

She could still feel the sting on her right cheek. Dago’s hand liked to slap that one a lot. He’d hit her, hard. He drag her to the back, slap her around, and afterwards the real horror show would start. Whenever she’d try to run or get her pets’ muzzles off, 12 men would be there to stop her, to take hold of her, and drag her to the back. She was no longer a guest. She was a prisoner. She was trapped here in this hellholw on the side of the road, with 13 men who were acting like they weren’t monsters when the sun was up. Truth was, they were just as revolting during the day as they were in the night.

They took her weapons. They muzzled her two pets, and beat them within an inch of their lives after she had managed to slice two of their men in half. After the beating, the two wolves did nothing to try and fight back. Whenever they did, the found that Kei would have to pay for it. Ren and Ame just sat at the top of the stairs, and they waited. They watched with fire and hatred in their eyes. Not at their master, no, but at their captors. The minute those god forsaken muzzles were off, they would pounce and tear each and every one of them until they were nothing but blood and bones. Oh they were ready to strike, and when they did, it would be hell on earth.

It was only a matter of time.

“I think I deserve a little treat now,” Dago spoke through his clenched teeth, “Don’t you, baby?”

Kei’s dark eyes fell to the floor, before flicking back up to meet his. She nodded her head and gave him another innocent smile.

“I think you do,” She chirped, “After saving my life and all. Why, I’d be dead in the snow if it weren’t for you, huh?”

“S’right,” He spoke firmly, eyeing her up down with growing hunger, “Finally talkin’ some sense.”

She leaned in close to his ear, pressing her red lips against his lobe.

“Meet me in the kitchens,”

The biker watched with great pleasure as his little Japanese pixie slid away towards the kitchen. When she disappeared behind the door, Dago took two more shots of whiskey before getting up out of his seat. He stalked his way to the kitchen door, anticipation tickling at his nerves. He loosened his belt and stepped inside, fully expecting to see his beautiful prisoner half naked and ready for him.

Instead he saw something large and black swing across his line of vision. The object smacked him square in the face, making him fall back and black out.

 

Dago woke up in pain. His body was limp, his muscles no use to him. When he slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness, he discovered that he was lying naked on the floor. His wrists were in handcuffs and his legs bound together. Blood was trickling down his mouth and nose from the hard object Kei had knocked him out with.

He heard the flicking sound of a lighter. He turned his head and saw a thin girl clad in black sitting on a silver kitchen table. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=64263500) lit the end of her cigarette, patiently waiting, her boots resting on the stool as she smoked away. She had changed into her regular black clothes, her makeup was washed off, her hair pulled up in a loose messy bun. When the disoriented biker began to speak to her, he found that his voice was muffled. His mouth was sealed with the same black bondage tape around his knees and ankles. He frowned.

This tape, it was in his special bag.

He turned his head. She had pulled out one of his duffle bags and dumped its contents on the floor.   
  
“I found your toys,” She spoke plainly, letting out a smokey sigh. She held up a riding crop and poked around in the small heap of rubber masks, harness bits, and dildos on the floor. “You’ve got quite a collection,” She reached down and picked one up, “Was this what you used on me last week?”

She pushed herself off the table and stepped up to him. He let out a noise.   
  
“ _DON’T_ try to fucking speak!" She spat, her natural accent seeming thicker than usual, “Was this what you used on me last week?...All you have to do is nod yes.”

She leaned towards him expectantly. The man nodded and felt cold terror piercing his chest. He lost his composure. He tugged at his handcuffs, his body writhing thrashing around like a dying worm. He could do nothing to resist when Kei reached back and whipped the riding crop violently across his bare thigh. The man howled in pain through his nose and cringed.

“So, you’ve got a BDSM fetish,” she said matter-of-factly, pacing in front of him like a hungry wolf, “A fucked up one, at that. You enjoy being rough, shoving these things inside girls, is that it?” She held the sex toy up and looked him in the eyes. Her face was expressionless, her coal black eyes dead and menacing.

Dago howled into the adhesive tape when she violently whipped the crop across his other thigh, the sharp snap of leather clashing against skin cracked out in the air.

“Stop your fucking whimpering!” She bit, imitating his rough voice whenever she was the one in his position, “If you complain, I’ll have to punish you.”

She stood up and went to the kitchen counter, tossing the sex toy aside. He followed her helplessly with his eyes. She came back with a simple black comb in her hands. She hovered over him and looked down at him, the comb in one hand and the riding crop in the other.

“Do you recognize this?" She asked lowly as she held up the comb, "Just nod your head...Nod!”

He nodded.

“Good,” She chirped, smirking as he shook in place like a leaf, “Do you know what it is?”

He stared at it with wild eyes as she let out a sigh and tutted at him.

“It’s the comb you bastards let me keep after taking the rest of my shit," She explained, looking down at the black plastic utensil, "A practical item, keeps my hair nice.” She pulled the top off, revealing a sharp single edged blade. The biker's eyes grew wide in horror. His breathing went heavy and rapid through his nose.

"And it's perfect for teaching sick pigs like you a lesson," She replied in a pleased tone.

Dago squirmed and howled through the tape. His eyes jutted around before going to the door. Why wasn't anyone checking on him?! Where the hell was everyone?!

"Most of them went out to scavenge for more supplies," She answered, as if reading his mind, "All that was left were the drunken weaklings. Ren and Ame took care of them."

His eyes went even wider. The wolves, she set them free. The corner of her mouth turned upward at the sight of his panicked look.

"Don't worry," She chirped simply, "They've had their fill. They left me to deal with you."

Without warning, her smirk dropped and her arm moved. Her hand with the knife swiftly slashed across his knee, making the man let out a muffled scream. He jerked around, his handcuffs clanking about as Kei stood up and wiped the small bit of blood off her knife with her sleeve. She walked only a few feet away and sat back on the kitchen table without looking at him. She merely lit herself another cigarette. The naked biker tried his hardest not to move a muscle, but his right leg kept twitching and throbbing in pain.

He froze up when he saw her move again.

She got up and walked away, opening up the kitchen door and walking out into the bar. When she came back, her knife was no longer in sight, but the riding crop was still in her hand. She walked up to him and he cringed, attempting to curl up into a ball as she bent down and looked at him. Her big, dark eyes were dead and cold. Her mouth closed around the cigarette between her lips and she took a long drag.

“I made a mistake trusting you last winter,” She said, exhaling smoke into the man's bloodied face with each word, “I was sick, and weak, and I let my guard down. I misjudged you on just how fucking sick you and your boys really were.”

Her dark eyes wandered over his frame, sending a piercing shiver up and down the naked biker’s aching spine.

“I should’ve seen it coming, I guess,” She mused with raised eyebrows, “Given how the world is now…"

She took the cigarette out of her mouth and exhaled, watching as her abuser shook and whimpered, his eyes wide in terror.

“I’m going to keep it simple for you,” She said with a smirk, “You and your gang are going to let me go....You following me?”

She waited for a response, but he didn't react. She gripped the crop and smacked it on his lower stomach, just above his genitals.

“Are you following me?!” She repeated, her voice louder and more strict.

He nodded rapidly.

“Good."

She got on her knees and stubbed her cigarette out on the tile floor. “This is what’s going to happen. You're going to give me half— _and I mean half_ — of the food and ammo. You’re also going to give me the keys to your bike. You understand?”

The man nodded.

“Good boy," She cooed, "I’ll be far away from here, and you will not try to find me. You will not follow me, and you will not have one of your asshole friends come after me.”

He nodded repeatedly.

“If I see any of your men so much as a football field's length away from me, I’ll kill them, and then I’ll come back here to kill the rest of you. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“I know how thick your boys are, so you're going to do your very best to convince them," She demanded, “And you’re not going to fail me. Do you know why you’re not going to fail?!"   
  
She raised her other arm and brought the riding crop down on his thigh. He let out a cry through his nose and cringed.

"Because if you fail I will come back, cover this entire bar in animal remains, and have Walkers surround this fucking place," She seethed venemously, "And among those remains will be your little crayola dick that I'll be sure to cut off myself, _very_ slowly...”

He listened to every syllable the dark haired girl was saying. His eyes and heart were burning with hatred, his mind telling him that she had made a grave mistake by doing this. " _You’re going to regret this, you fucking cunt,"_ he thought bitterly, _"When I get out of this, I’m going to fucking tear you apart."_

Still, he continued nodding as hard as he could in response to everything she said. She smiled and took out another cigarette.

“You want to know something, Dago?” She asked curiously. He frowned as she leaned forward and put the stick to her lips.

"I was a ward of the state for a while," She confessed, "No parents, no relatives, up until I was adopted at seventeen. Since I was five I was tossed around by legal guardians, psychologists, foster parents; a majority of them ended up being sick fucks like you who thought they could take advantage of me."

She got out her lighter and flicked it on, pressing the tip of her cigarette into the flame. She sucked in a breath and sighed through her nose, watching as smoke left her nostrils.

"When I was eight, I set my pedophile of a foster brother on fire," She admitted, "It didn’t kill him at the time, unfortunately. Nor did it kill my foster dad when I stabbed him in the neck…but I tied up the loose ends when I grew older...You know why I'm you telling this?"

He shook his head, recoiling as she leaned in close, looking straight into his eyes and letting his soul know that she meant her next sentance,

" _Because you fucked up_ ," She hissed, "And you fucked up big time by thinking that you have control over me, that you can just keep me or any other woman here to fuck and hit whenever you please. All of the other fuckups before you thought the same, and all of them lost."  

His eyes widened involuntarily. The terrified biker believed her, one hundred percent. There was no lie in her eyes, those dark pools full with insanity. Her mouth perked up a little as she pulled away, getting up on her feet and looking down at him. She took a small hit before exhaling, looking down at him thoughtfully.

“You’ve been thinking the same thing,” She spoke simply, “Right now you’re lying there, thinking that you’re in control. You think you can somehow turn the tables and make me regret this…”

He shook his head rapidly, fear rising in his gut and making his stomach turn. He watched closely as she laughed and took another long drag from her cigarette.

“Liar…you think you’ve won,” She stated, her voice thick with the smoke lingering her throat and mouth. She let out a sharp exhale and looked to the floor, flicking her cigarette to take off the excess ash, “Fourtunately for you, my wolves are full and I personally can’t kill you right now. After all, you kept me warm during the winter, you healed me, and gave me shelter and safety—in your own little fucked up way. I owe you a debt, and it’s customary in my family that debts be repaid.”

Her coal black eyes flicked over to his fearful ones, a faint smile stretching across her lips as she leaned over,

“So thank you Dago, for saving me and keeping me alive,” She spoke in amusement, “In return, I’ll let you live. I’ll even give you a little something extra—to show everyone you meet just how thankful I am."

She gave him a crooked smile and threw a leg over him, bending down and stratling his stomach. Dago had no idea what she intended to do, but he felt a sudden terror as she reached into her back pocket.

Then he saw the small knife in her hand.

He flopped his head back and forth, trying to writhe and twist his body away. He let out several muffled cries and wails, yanking at his cuffs for dear life until a bony fist met with his face. She leaned over and pressed all her weight down on him. Wrapping an arm around his sweaty head, she held it tight to keep him from whipping it around.

“Stop moving!" She hissed bitterly, "I might just miss and take out your eye.”

She pressed the tip of her knife on the skin of his forehead, drawing a thin line down to his eyebrow. The man shook and thrashed under her, earning punches and yells in return. He could feel blood running down his eyelid and right temple. When she had managed to carve an 'R', she noticed that the biker had gone limp, his face sweaty and pale. He had passed out. When she was finished, he had stopped whimpering and laid completly still.

She stood up and took a few steps back, tilting her head as she looked down at her work. She stared down at the crimson red message written in caps across his bloody and sweat soaked forehead. A faint smile stretched across her lips,

" _You reap what you sow, asshole,_ " She muttered.

 

After the number she did on the distraught biker, she gathered up the toys and placed the riding crop in back in his duffle bag. She traveled several feet out with a half can of gas and burned the bag. After watching the flames burn at the duffle bag and it's contents, she felt a lot better, like a huge weight had been lifted off of her. She came back to the bar and found Ren and Ame by the stairs, the two licking the blood off each other's mouths and faces. They looked over to her expectantly, awaiting her next command.

“Just a minute,” she said, making her way past them and heading up stairs. She kicked down the office door where Smokey had kept all her things. She broke the glass case where her weapons were held and raided the closet where her rucksack and duffle were. She went around the place grabbing what she and Dago had agreed upon: Half the food, and half the ammo. When she came back down to the bar, Ren and Ame were nowhere to be found. She furrowed slightly and set her stuff down, traveling back into the kitchen.

Dago was still on the floor, bloody, sweaty, and passed out cold. A puddle of urine much too big to be done by one man had surrounded him. Ren and Ame stood there next to him, their tales wagging in satisfaction. She smiled lightly and walked up to them, patting their heads.

"Nice job, guys,"  

She knelt down and unlocked one of the handcuffs, putting the key on his stomach before she and her pets left. She took the keys to his bike and sped down the empty road, her two wolves following after her. 


	18. Seed pt. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm so glad you're alright!" The woman chirped, "I'm so glad. I was scared sick that you didn't make it."
> 
> "Of course I made it," Kei spoke confidently. She unwrapped her arms from around the woman and held both of her hands with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, NOW we're in season 3 lol. Yaaaaay! Adventures await.
> 
> Enjoy! xx

_The siren blared. She stepped up to the yellow line and waited, watching expressionlessly as the metal door in front of her slid across. The pair of hands gripping each of her arms tightened as two men rushed her forward and towed her down the hallway. They brought her into another room with no windows, a familiar woman with a long face, dark skin, and long braids was sitting at the table. The guards sat her down on the metal chair and stood back. The woman looked at them expectantly and gestured for them to stand outside the door. They obliged with a nod, walking away and shutting the door behind them. Kei’s eyes traveled down to her handcuffed wrists before looking at the table. The woman had three green files stacked on top of each other, along with a red plastic toothbrush that was pointed at the end. She held up the handmade prison shiv and stared at the girl intensely._

_“Do you remember this?” She asked, her tone scolding and motherly at the same time._ [ _Kei_ ](http://www.polyvore.com/kai_19_years_old/set?id=66056254) _didn’t answer. She merely shrugged her shoulders with a blank expression. The woman slammed it down onto the table with a sigh and leaned back, digging through her own pockets._

_“You should,” She replied, pulling out a box of Djarum cigarettes and putting one to her lips, “You stabbed a prisoner with it.”_

_Kei watched as she pulled out a lighter and flicked it on, pressing the flame to the end of the skinny, black stick of tobacco._

_“He tried to touch me again,” She muttered. The woman exhaled a cloud of smoke and set her lighter down on the table._

_“Yeah? Well welcome to West Central Prison,” She quipped, “You signed up for all this, don‘t forget that. You’ve attempted to kill your guardian, your foster father, and you burned your foster sibling alive! Not to mention you started a fire, escaped from Women’s Correctional, AND nearly killed your cellmate by bashing her face in. The court is being very, VERY gracious with you right now, Kei. Keep this shit up, and you‘ll be going to State. You‘re 17 now. Next slip up will cost you a hell of a lot more.”_

_Kei’s eyes traveled back down to her handcuffed wrists._

_“What’s so bad about that family, huh?” The woman in front of her asked, “They’re caring, family oriented, driven, and from what I’ve researched they come from a very long line of honorable people.”_

_“They’re too perfect,” Kei mentioned plainly, “There’s a catch.”_

_“There’s no catch, Kei,” The woman spoke._

_“There’s always a catch,” The girl retorted, looking her dead in the eye._

_“Not this time,” The woman assured, “This time, I had a hand in this. I made sure every one of them and their relatives were clean. Not so much as a speeding ticket with these people. You can ease up now.”_

_Kei’s dark eyes traveled down to the stack of green files. A pair of bony fingers placed themselves on top of the stack._

_“This right here, girl, is your entire life,” The Warden explained, “This is how the world sees you. The degenerate, the maniac, the shit on their shoes…”_

_Kei eyed the folder as she slid it across and placed it in front of her._

_“I know you’re better than what is in this file,” She replied lowly, “Now you had damn good reasons to do what you did to those guys, there’s no denying that in my eyes. But the law and the outside world won’t excuse you for it. The self defense card can only be played for so long before the court doesn't buy it. They’ll turn it to make you look like a killer, a psycho with no feeling or remorse, someone who would kill again if they were given the chance.”_

_Kei’s dark eyes flicked back up at the Warden’s, her eyebrow arching upward. Warden Stiles eyed her firmly._

_“Hold a grudge all you want, but you do your best to keep it hidden from the rest of the world,” She warned, “Show the others on the outside that you‘re sane, vulnerable, helpless… And when your enemies, those who wronged you out there least expect it, that’s when you strike. You strike, and you strike hard. Leave no traces behind…”_

_Kei looked up and watched as the woman slipped out of her seat and gathered everything that was on the table. She walked over to the young girl and looked down. Kei looked up at her with her dark and tired eyes and watched as the woman leaned down, her face only inches from hers. The woman’s expression was firm, strict, her eyes burning with determination._

_“To perfect an illusion, the false reality must appear as authentic as the one it hides,” She spoke, “Those who can blur the moral dividing line hold the true power…”_

 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=63579635) watched them closely from up above. She slowly drew back her arrow and let go, watching as it hit a walker square in the eye. It wasn’t until five arrows later that she was finally safe. The small herd that had stalked her in the woods laid dead in a pile surrounding the tree. She whistled out. Ren cautiously stepped out from a thicket nearby and trotted over to the pile of corpses. She growled lightly and barked at it. Not a single walker moved. The girl climbed down cautiously and poked at a walker’s limp body with her foot. When it didn’t move, she landed onto the pile and leapt off, quickly bolting further into the woods.

After the first three months on her own since her capture at the bar, Kei had only gone back to the highway once. She went back to see if Rick or Daryl left her any clues as to where they were headed. The only clue left for her was the car where the group had left supplies for Sophia. The food and supplies that had been left there untouched the entire time was now gone. Now any living survivor could have come in and taken it, but her heart had told her firmly that it was her group, and that they were alive. Finding her best friend would have to wait. She was going to track down her old group. She was going to find them no matter what.

She wasn’t the best tracker in the world, she admitted that, but she had a map with her. She had circled the areas with overwhelming herds, and x-ed out the areas she figured Rick would take the group. They were all relatively near. After all, they could only go so far with a woman already 9 months pregnant in tow.

The thought of that made the corner of her mouth perk up. Lori was 9 months along now. Her baby bump would be all nice and big, she’d look like she was ready to pop. She always thought women looked so pretty when they were pregnant. Lori would be just that. Kei couldn’t wait to meet with her group now. She couldn’t wait to see the new baby. She couldn’t wait to see how big Carl had gotten and how strong Maggie and Glenn’s relationship had grown. She couldn’t wait to see Rick and Beth and Daryl again. Especially Daryl. She couldn’t wait to hug him, to laugh with him (or at him), hunt with him…The thought of her group had kept her going for the past 9 months, and it would keep her going until she found them again.

Dago’s bike had finally run out of gas and stopped a quarter mile away from a nearby town. She traveled on foot to the deserted town with Ren and Ame at her side. She carried along her katana and an empty gas can, looking around.  A few walkers staggered around mindlessly, hissing and growling about, most of them paying no mind to the slender girl quietly trotting along. She kept her hand on her sword’s hilt, casually walking on by to a pharmacy. She opened up the door and quickly walked inside, listening as the bell above her jingled loudly. A walker wearing a bloody and ripped lab coat was just up ahead, slowly turning its body around to see what kind of lunch was waiting in the doorway.

She quickly rushed to the right, hiding behind a shelf in the next aisle. Ren and Ame rushed down the aisle and went their separate ways to try and distract the undead creature. She slipped out her sword as the wolves trotted around every which way. Their growling and rapid footsteps gave the walker a hard time trying to pinpoint where in which aisle his food was. The creature staggered its way down the main aisle, stopping to look down each aisle on either side. Kei waited at the edge, listening as its heavy footsteps trudged closer and closer.

Her grip on her sword grew tight. She could smell the thing now, it’s hissing practically in her ears. Just as she saw a tattered boot step forward, she stepped out and swung her sword around. The blade slashed across, the walker’s head flying off and hitting the ground with a loud bump. Kei watched as the rest of the walker’s body crumpled to the floor. She whipped her sword to the side sharply, flicking the excess blood off her blade. She slipped out her cleaning cloth and went on to wipe the blade as she looked around. A lot of the basics had been looted: Bandages, hyrdrogen peroxide, anti bacterial cremes. She walked to the pharmacy counter and leapt over, looking at all the shelves still fairly stocked with pills. She found some aspirin, antibiotics, and one bottle of high quality pain killers. The rest seemed to be for things like joint pain or kidney diseases. She shoved the pills in her bag and slung it back over her shoulder.

After getting what she could at the pharmacy, she and the wolves snuck on over to the local gas station to try and get some fuel for her bike. As she crossed the street and snuck her way around back, she stopped in her tracks, marveling over at the object leaning against the vine covered fence. It was a motor bike. Leaves and dust mostly covered it, but that didn’t do much to tarnish its sleek (and badass) image.

“No way,” She gushed, stepping forward to look at the vehicle in awe. A Kawasaki Ninja. It was a 250R by what the logo on its side said. The motorcycle appeared to be in fair condition; only a few scratches here and there. The tires looked barely used. Whoever owned it must have bought them relatively new, and right before the world had gone to hell. The owner must’ve gotten taken out before they even had a chance to really ride it.

She ran a hand over the seat and wiped the dust and dirt off. She then took the bike by the handles and pulled it off of the fence, yanking off a bunch of old and dead vines with it. She cleaned the thing off as best as she could before tossing a leg over and sitting down. She placed her hands on the handles and gripped them, turning to Ren and Ame with a smirk.

“Pretty badass, huh?”

Ren just huffed through her nose and cocked her head a little. Ame wagged his tail and panted heavily in agreement. She carefully stepped off the bike and went back inside the gas station to look for keys. She hopped over the cash register counter and looked around.

“Cigarettes, lighters, tobacco, cigars,” She mumbled to herself, “Keys…keys, keys, keys…Ahah!”

Hanging on the rack by the door were a set of keys with a Kawasaki logo on the chain. She reached over and yanked it off the hook, gripping them in her hands with a grin. Ren and Ame sniffed around the tile floor while Kei swiped some cigarettes, a couple lighters, and the remainder of beef jerky that was in the snack aisle. She shoved it all in her backpack and walked to the glass door, frowning when she saw a walker wandering around her new bike. She slid out her sword and pushed the door open, rushing out and cutting its head off before it could even make a noise.

She got on the bike and turned on the engine, revving it and watching as Walkers started to wander towards the noise. She whistled loudly and watched as Ren and Ame bolted out the store, the two of them running out onto the road. She pushed the bike forward and lifted up her feet, swerving out onto the road and following her companions. She raised one arm high in the air, cheering out loudly as she sped down the road.

She rode on 27 and kept on with Ren and Ame running at her side. The road cut through a small forested area, which seemed like the perfect spot to hunt. She pulled her new bike over and quickly cut off the engine, shouldering her bow and quiver before putting down the kick stand. She swung her leg over and looked over at Ren and Ame, the two of them panting lightly as they stood in front of the treeline. They sniffed the air cautiously before turning their heads back to their master. She whistled sharply and watched as they jolted off into the woods. Kei stepped forward and followed along after them.

 

The girl's boots lightly treaded across the ground. Her breathing was light and steady, her dark eyes scanning. She stopped next to a large tree and stared about, the forest oddly quiet, and somewhat serene. She closed her eyes and listened to the the sound of leaves rustling, and paws treading across the forest floor.

She snapped open her eyes. Her head shot to the side quickly. She saw something scurry across. Her coal black eyes narrowed and she leaned against the tree. She saw a chubby looking rabbit gently pattering about, nuzzling at the ground for some food. Ren crouched down and began treading across the forest floor, Kei leaning down and following her as well. She had picked up a number of mannerisms from all the time she spent with her pets. One of them being on how to stalk your prey quietly before going in for the kill.

Stopping behind a fallen tree, she saw the rabbit’s head shoot up in alert. Not moving a muscle and watching quietly, Kei kept her body still while Ren continued to stalk. The girl quietly docked on arrow on her bow and pulled the bowstring back, the wood of her bow creaking ever so slightly.

The rabbit's ears lowered behind its head and its twitching nose returned to the ground, nibbling away at the leafy weeds on the forest floor. Kei slowly rose to her knees and drew her arrow back further, the metal tip moving up and over the trunk she had hid behind. The large rabbit's head flicked up quickly, and in one swift movement her arrow shot out from the bow, plummeting towards the animal's throat. The thing was quick however, darting out of the way and running for dear life as Kei let out a loud swear. The rabbit didn’t get far before getting swept up into Ame’s jaws. The Grey wolf darted out from the thicket only a few feet away and cut the rabbit’s path short. He scooped the animal up into his jaws and clamped down hard on his furry torso.

Goosebumps spread across Kei's dirty skin as it let out a few blood curdling shrieks before its flailing body fell limp. Ame let the animal down onto the forest floor and waited patiently for his master to collect it.

She jumped over the tree trunk and jogged over to the rabbit's corpse, kneeling down and analyzing it closely. She was a bit surprised at how big the thing was. It was a good size, and fairly plump underneath all that fur. She smiled at her kill and took its back legs, carefully wrapping them up with twine. She strung the rope through a belt loop on her jeans, letting her prize hang there off her waist. She looked down at Ame and patted his head in gratitude, doing the same to Ren when she trotted up with her fallen arrow in her mouth.

She placed the arrow back in her quiver and turned around. Ame and Ren rushed up ahead, nipping at each other playfully as Kei started following the trail back to her bike. She quickly stopped and flinched when she heard a loud and sudden pop echo in the air. She turned around sharply, her eyebrows knitted, and her lips pursed. Another loud pop. What was that, firecrackers? It sounded like it. It couldn't be though.

She readied another arrow and slightly drew it back as she followed the noise. She found herself treading along an old abandoned railroad track halfway buried in leaves. As she followed the track closely, she noticed that the sounds were getting louder. She must be going in the right direction.

She flinched again. Another popping sound cracked across the air. She furrowed and lowered her body as she stepped forward. Those popping sounds, they weren’t firecrackers. They were gunshots. Someone close by was pumping off rounds like the bullets were candy. Either they were facing a large herd on their own, or they were terrible shots and kept missing. She stepped forward along the railroad tracks until she found a little clearing. She turned and stood up, looking out at an open field of walkers that had been fenced in several feet away. They were guarded by four large towers and one big building a little further in back.

Kei’s eyes widened.

It was a prison. _The_ prison.

The West Georgia Correctional Facility.

She stepped forward in awe. The undead prisoners inside the courtyard were suddenly dropping to the ground like flies. Gunshots popped off repeatedly from every tower. She could hear yelling. She looked below and saw people running along the metal corridor, banging against the wired fence and yelling like mad men. Walkers went up to them, snarling and growling violently. She watched as the people below strategically shoved their weapons through the holes in the chain-link and jabbed the creatures in the head. Her heart raced. This, all of this, was utterly brilliant.

She couldn’t see who any of these people were from so far away, but she knew that she had to get in with them. Maybe they had run into her old group. Hell, maybe they were her old group! The smile on her face couldn’t help but widen. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled out loudly before running back to meet her companions at her bike.

“I found people, you guys!” She chirped, shouldering her weapons and placing her hands on the handles of her bike. She looked down at the dogs as they curiously stared back up at her, wondering what on earth she could mean.

“We’re heading towards the prison,” She announced, “Follow me, _shinade_!”

She pushed her bike on through the woods and on down the small hill only a yard or so away from the fences. She lowered her body into the long grass and peeked through, watching as gunshots continued to fire, popping off walkers in prison uniforms left and right. She could see a man, skinny, with dark hair running across the field. He shot at walkers left and right as he made his way further up the courtyard towards the other fence. She squinted her eyes.

“Hey!” She heard a female voice yell out, “Hey hey hey! Over here!”

“COME ON! COME ON OVER HERE!”

Her dark eyes shot over to the four figures inside the metal corridor. She could see a small and skinny blonde with a brunette girl fairly taller than her at her side. A shorter boy with dark hair and a yellow shirt on was there as well, along with a tall man with dark skin and a shiny bald head. Her eyes widened, and her heart raced. It had to be them. It had to be! It was T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, and Beth. They were alive! They were all alive!

A crowd of walkers banged and clawed at the fence on Kei’s side. Her lips twisted to the side and she turned her head towards Ren.

“You ready?”

Her huff was light, just barely reaching a quiet bark. The girl nodded and turned to Ame. His teeth flared as a menacing growl rumbled in his throat. She smiled and looked ahead, sliding her bags to the side and putting her hood up. She stood up straight and whistled sharply, Ren and Ame sprinting into action and running ahead. Kei stood up straight and held up her weapon. She docked an arrow on her bowstring and drew it back to her cheek, taking a slow breath in the process. She released her hand and let the arrow fly, watching it as it flew straight into the back of a walker’s head. Maggie turned around sharply, looking at the corpse now dead on the ground on the other side of the fence. She saw two blurs, one grey and one red whizz by, barking like crazy as they tried to draw walkers away from the fence.

Kei ran forward, docking an arrow as she made it down into the battlefield. She ran next to the wired fence and stopped suddenly. Ren and Ame were fast approaching from a distance, three whole walkers staggering after them in hunger. She drew her arrow back and let the heavy string go, the Walker on the left quickly plummeting to the ground. She drew another arrow and docked it, letting the arrow go before turning around sharply. A female walker with a missing foot hissed and reached out to her with its rotted steely fingers. She shouldered her bow with her right hand, and reached for her katana with her left. She slid out her most trusted weapon and swung it around sharply. The blade cut straight across the walker’s face, slicing off half of its head. She turned around once more and ran straight for the last walker, swinging her weapon in an arc and cutting it down. As the last walker finally fell, she noticed that the gunfire had long since stopped.

She turned towards the fence, noticing four living bodies latched on to the wire and watching her closely. It was Glenn, Beth, Maggie, and T-Dog, all with their mouths slightly ajar. She smiled brightly, her heart thumping with joy inside her ribcage. Boy, was it good to see them again.

“Kei,” She heard Beth’s sweet and shaky voice call, “Kei! Is that you!? Kei!”

The blonde girl banged on the fence rapidly, calling the young girl over in excitement. Kei rushed up to the fence and pulled off her hood with a smile, putting her fingers through the holes on the wired fence. Beth placed her dirtied fingers on Kei’s, wearing a toothy smile brighter than the sun on her face. Her big blue eyes were glassy with tears as she jumped up and down in place.

“You’re alive!” She cried, “I can’t believe it, you’re alive!!”

“You’re alive too!” Kei chirped back, “I looked everywhere for you guys!”

Maggie rushed over, her eyes wide in hysterics.

“You’re here,” She breathed, “Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!”

“I’m fine,” Kei answered quickly, smiling brightly at the sweaty brunette.  
  
T-Dog rushed over with Glenn, the same wide-eyed expression on their faces.

“Are you okay?!” T-Dog asked out.

“We cut a hole open on the fence over there,” Glenn spoke, “Get your stuff and run on over, I’ll let you in!”

Kei nodded lightly and let go of Beth’s hand, whistling for Ren and Ame to follow her back to the tall grass. She ran back and grabbed all of her bags, rushing over to the spot on the fence that was stitched up with red wire. Glenn yanked open the snapped fencing and Kei rushed in quickly. T-Dog and Maggie jumped in and held it open. Ren and Ame were the last ones to jump through and T-Dog gripped the two sides, pulling them as tightly together as his robust muscles could let him. Glenn weaved a wire back and forth through the loops, closing it up officially before any walkers could try and get through.

Kei turned around, only to have a body smack into her and take her into a tight embrace. Beth and Maggie wrapped their arms around her tightly, hugging her with such love and relief, it almost overwhelmed the dark haired girl. Both girls let go to look at her. Her face was brushed with dirt and sweat. Her jet black hair had grown out past her shoulders, and to both their suprise, she had gotten even skinnier than when they had last seen her. Glenn and T-Dog turned around, each giving her a tight hug before taking her bags and slinging them over their shoulders. Maggie and Beth both linked arms with her as they walked down the metal corridor.

"What happened after the farm?" Maggie asked.

"I went back to the highway and saw the supplies you left for Sophia gone," Kei explained, "That's when I knew you guys were alive. I had no idea how many were, but I knew. I knew I'd find you."

Beth gave her a tight hug as they approached the wire gate. T-Dog slid it open and they all pooled through. She could see the rest of the group up ahead. Carol, Rick, Hershel, Lori, Carl, and Daryl were huddled in the open field. The remains of their hard work were scattered all around the grassy courtyard. Ame rushed up ahead and barked out of excitement at the sight of a very familiar boy in a Sherriff’s hat. Carl turned around sharply, watching with wide eyes as a large, furry Wolf darted straight for him. The boy hesitantly took a few steps forward before running into a sprint towards the grey wolf.

"Ame!" He cried out, “Ame!!” He stopped to fall onto his knees and opened his arms. Ame rushed right up to the young boy and practically knocked him over, showering the boy's dirty face with sloppy kisses. Ren darted up towards Rick and leapt up, planting her dirty paws on his stomach as she extended her neck out. Rick stumbled back a little and impulsively pet the red wolf in confusion and disbelief. He looked over to Carl. He was laughing happily, burying his face into the gray wolf's fur and snuggling him. They were real. The wolves were alive and real.

He turned back towards the group, instantly noticing the extra body. Lori brushed past him, holding her stomach as she rushed up to the girl and took her into an awkward hug. Kei hugged the leader's wife back happily and kissed her cheek, letting go to look at her stomach swollen with a new life inside. She smiled brightly, looking back up into Lori's wild dark green eyes.

"You escaped," Lori spoke, her voice shaky in utter shock, "I-I can’t believe it! How'd you know where to find us?"

"I was out hunting," Kei answered, pointing out to the woods, "I heard a ton of gunfire, so I followed the noise and ended up here. I was just on my way to head out to Newnan."

Lori gently cupped the dark haired girl's cheek with her hand lovingly. Her smile was warm and genuine, her eyes just as glassy as Beth's.

"I'm so glad to see you safe," She spoke, turning to look back at the wolves, "All of you."

“Kei,” Rick called, running up to the girl and taking her into his arms. Kei hugged him tight and buried her face in his in shoulder. She couldn’t believe it right now. She couldn’t believe that she found them, all of them. It was unreal.

“I’m so happy you three made it out,” Rick let out, unwrapping his arms from around her, “Are you okay? You hurt anywhere?”

"I’m fine,” She assured with a nod, “Are you all that's left?" She had noticed that one tall and pretty blond, and one insane man with a shaved head were nowhere in sight.  
  
"We lost some back at the farm," He answered, stepping next to his wife, "Jimmy, Patricia, Andrea..."

"Shane," Lori finished, her eyes instantly falling and turning away with her head. Rick mimicked his wife's actions. Kei's eyes narrowed at them for a brief second.

"Kei!" She heard Carol's soft voice call out. She turned around and yelped a little as a bony body clashed into hers. Two spindly arms wrapped themselves around her, squeezing her tight. She felt Carol's hand lovingly touch the back of her head as they continued the hug. Kei wrapped her arms around Carol's waist and hugged her back with as much love and relief.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" The woman chirped, "I'm so glad. I was scared sick that you didn't make it."

"Of course I made it," Kei spoke confidently. She unwrapped her arms from around the woman and held both of her hands with a smile.

"I'm glad you and Daryl made it out," She gushed, "It's good to know that my plan didn't completely go up in smoke."

Carol's soft smile grew wide and bright as she turned around, guiding Kei's glance past Carol's shoulder and over to the rugged hunter approaching them slowly. She felt Carol's hands loosen and the girl let them go, walking past her and up to the hunter. Everyone else took the small and unspoken hint and started making their way further down the courtyard, looking for a good spot to set up for the night.

Kei kept her eyes locked on the hunter. He was skinnier, his hair was longer (only an inch or so from his shoulders), and he was a whole lot dirtier- if that were even possible for him. He still sported sleeveless flannels along with his only vest now worn and beaten with time and dirt. His jeans were ripped at the knees and his boots dirty with mud and grass. He looked almost exactly how she remembered him, and it made her heart smile more. His face was strict as he strode closer to her, his eyes staring straight through her and a flash of concern went through her mind before he finally met her. The hunter's stormy blue eyes went to the dirt before they tore away, looking up and directly at her. His jaw bobbed up and down. He was hesitant about something. She cocked her head only slightly, her eyebrows raising upward.

Caught off guard, Daryl suddenly pulled her into his arms, the desperation in him clear as he ignored the presence of the group around them. He held onto her tight and she wrapped her arms around him, unable to hold back her bright smile as they clung onto each other.


	19. Wounded Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What, you never been kissed before?" She asked with a light laugh in her voice.
> 
> "I've been kissed!" He retorted defensively, "I ain't sheltered."

Darkness came as the group all settled down for the night in the courtyard. They crowded around a small fire and ate bits and pieces of the rabbit Kei had brought, along with the remainder of an owl Daryl had managed to kill earlier that day.

Glenn picked the rest of his meat off a small bone and then threw it off into the grass,

"Mmm… just like mom used to make," He praised sarcastically. Maggie smiled beside him and gently rested her head on his shoulder. Carl laid flat on his stomach in the cool grass, Ame laying down loyally by his side. He watched as the boy ripped off a piece of meat and handed it over to the grey wolf.

"Thanks for the rabbit by the way," Carl chirped, looking over to Kei with a smile, “It's the best we’ve had in days.”

Kei smiled lightly and nodded, looking down at her plate. She then looked over to Lori and her baby bump, thinking about the life inside. It was a miracle that the baby managed to survive this long, with all this running and stress and lack of food. She started to feel bad for the both of them. Food must have been scarce, especially during the winter months. The baby was probably hungry, Lori too.

The girl placed some of her meat in a bowl and held it out the expecting mother with a faint smile,

"Here, have the rest of mine,"

She noticed Lori’s attention was elsewhere and followed her gaze over to Rick. He was over in the back patrolling the fence line, making sure no Walkers could get in. Before she could say anything, T-Dog spoke out,

"Tomorrow we'll pull the bodies together,” He announced, “Wanna keep ‘em away from that water. Now if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water."

"And the soil is good,” Hershel announced, rubbing some dirt between his fingers, “We could plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soy beans…"

The old farmer strained away from his sentence as he turned and stared up at Rick,

"That's his third time around,” He pointed out, “If there was any part of it compromised, he’d have found it by now."

Kei looked up over at Rick, seeing a few Walkers following him along the fence as he moved about slowly with her wolves at his side. She sighed to herself and stared back at the fire, pulling her blanket up and over her shoulders. She heard Beth chirp out beside her,

"This'll be a good place to have the baby,” She said to the leader's wife, “Safe."

Lori smiled at her and gave her a small nod before looking down at the fire. Kei looked to the ground before turning her head, watching as Daryl and Carol stood on top of a turned over bus from afar. She picked up her bowl and stood up, her blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm gonna give this to Carol and Daryl," She announced, walking away from the group and the warmth of the fire. When she approached the bus, Carol had already gotten down and was making her way back. Kei stopped in front of her and held out the bowl.

"Hungry?"

The woman shook her head with a faint smile, holding her arms and looking back at the bus.

"He hasn't eaten anythin’ yet," She spoke, "You go on and give to him. I've had my share."

She turned back to look at the dark haired girl with a warm smile, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. She pulled her in for a light hug, Kei accepting it wholeheartedly and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"He may not show it as much, but he really does care," She heard Carol mutter in her ear, "He wanted to go out there every day to look for you. Hear what I'm saying?"

The girl's dark eyes fell to the ground as Carol pulled away with a warm smile. She gently placed a hand on Kei's cheek before fully pulling away to go back to the group. Kei watched Carol walk back for only a second before returning her attention to the task at hand.

She walked around the bus and stared up at the hunter. He was pacing back and forth across the side, sporting a brown and red makeshift poncho and his crossbow in his hands. His eyes met hers at an instant and he knelt down, lending her a hand as she climbed up. She made her way up and on top of the bus's side, standing up straight and holding out the bowl.

"Here, you're probably really hungry,"

He eyed the bowl briefly before taking it from her hands. She watched as he held bits of meat up above him and let it drop into his mouth. A breeze blew by, it made her shiver a little, holding the blanket around her tighter.

"You eat yet?" He asked with his mouth only slightly full. She nodded her head, watching as he chewed and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You ain't lyin' to me, are ya?"

She peered at him, her eyebrows knitting slightly.

"Ya look like ya haven't eaten in days," He mentioned, dropping another piece of meat into his mouth.

"I ate, I promise," She remarked with a light scoff.

She turned her head upward and peered at the stars. Little glittering diamonds spread across a dark blue blanket. It was such a nice night out. She looked back to Daryl and saw him sharply turn his head away, getting caught in the act of staring at her. She smiled lightly and stepped closer to him, resting her head on his chest. She felt him recede slightly before stepping forward a little more. She closed her eyes, the smile never leaving her face as she listened to his heart patter against his ribcage.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Fine, just cold," She chirped simply, smiling as his heart pattered just a little bit faster.

They stayed silent for awhile, just listening to the sound of crickets and the crackling of the fire from behind them.

"How come..." Daryl's voice paused mid-sentence. Kei shifted her head to look up at him, her chin pressing gently against his chest. He looked away, his lips twisting to the side a little.

"Nevermind,"

"What?" She pressed.

"Forget it,"

She shifted her head again, pressing it back against his chest. She listened to his heart. It was thumping harder than before.

"Been wonderin'," He began, his chin bobbing up and down lightly, “How come...how come ya did that thing, the last night we were on the farm…"

“When I drew the walkers away?” She asked, her eyebrow arching up a little, “It was to save your—”

“Nah I mean…” He paused, letting out a huff through his nose, “I mean the other thing…”

The girl gently lifted her head from his chest and looked at him.

"You mean when…I kissed you?" She asked slowly. His eyes fell to the ground before looking back at her. He nodded.

"Why," She inquired curiously, her eyebrow arching upward again.

"Cause it was weird is all," He answered, his husky voice now low, as if he didn't want anyone to hear.

"What, you never been kissed before?" She asked with a light laugh in her voice.

"I've been kissed!" He retorted defensively, "I ain't sheltered."

"Just a question," She laughed, still huddled against him, "So what about my kiss upset you?"

"N...Nothin'," He admitted, "Was just wonderin' why you did it."

"Well…I figured it'd be obvious," She replied.

He didn't answer right away. It made Kei giggle.

"Come on Dixon, it's not _that_ hard to figure out," She teased.

"Didn' say it was," He spoke, his tone getting slightly harsh, "But...but that's just...that's just stupid."

"What's so stupid about it?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows together. She felt him step away, causing her head to fall a little. She looked at him, and saw the panic practically radiating off of him.

"Everything," He answered quickly, "How can ya...I mean, why would ya be into..."

"What?" Kei asked, laughing in the process. He put his hand to his mouth and his teeth clamped down on his thumbnail impulsively with unwanted nervousness. He quickly put his hand down to his side and walked over to the edge of the bus.

"I gotta head back,"

"Daryl," Kei called. He leapt down before she could say another word. She let out another frustrated sigh and leapt down as well. She landed onto the grass with a soft thud and watched as the hunter started to turn the corner and head back.

 

Kei walked back to the campfire. Beth was singing a song by her father's request. Her voice chimed and flowed beautifully. It was an old and lovely Irish song, most likely sung and passed down through the family. Maggie joined in with a small smile and together they sang the chorus. Their singing voices faded in Kei's ears as she looked back over at Daryl, watching as his stare avoided hers and stayed glued to the fire.

"Beautiful…" Hershel gushed with a faint smile. Kei nodded in agreement and let out a yawn, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“We’d better all turn in,” Rick spoke out.

Everyone turned their heads and looked to their Leader,

"I'll take watch over there," He announced, pointing over to one of the fences, "We got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked. Kei watched as Rick looked down, a plan obviously brewing in his head,

"Look… I know we're all exhausted," He said with a sigh, "This was a great win… but we gotta push just a little bit more."

He paused for a moment before continuing, looking to each member of his group,

"Most of the Walkers are dressed up as guards and prisoners," He informed, "Looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean all the supplies here may still be intact. They'd have an infirmary, commissary—"

"An armory?" Daryl's husky voice interrupted for a moment. Rick nodded,

"Bet it’d be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. The Warden's office would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine… this place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershel remarked. Rick stared at him for a moment, "We'll run out before we’ll make a dent."

"That's why we'll have to go in there… hand to hand," The leader announced slowly, quickly looking to each member of the group, "After all we've been through, we can handle it I know it…"

He turned to look down at Carl, the young boy lying next to Ame and watching the fire intently.

"These assholes don't stand a chance," He spoke, earning a small smile from the boy beside him.

Rick then stood up and began walking over towards the overturned bus where he would take watch. Everyone slowly got up and began shuffling around, readying their sleeping bags and pillows.

Kei walked over to her belongings, finding that T-Dog had already set out her sleeping bag and pillow. She sat down and got out her extra blanket from her backpack, sighing lightly as she plopped down flat across her sleeping bag. She took a deep breath through her nose and sighed lightly. Today was a great day, regardless of what just happened with Daryl. She found them all, and they were safe. That’s all that mattered to her right now.

She felt four sets of paws patter across her bag before something big and furry plopped itself down next to her. She looked to her left with a smile, reaching over and petting Ren's fur happily. She then jumped as a bag and a pile of blankets suddenly smacked down on the grass next to her. She turned around sharply to see Daryl making his sleeping spot, laying out his blankets and using his pack as a makeshift pillow. He laid down flat and folded his hands over his stomach, looking up at the night sky with a sigh. The corner of her mouth perked up as she turned to face him, letting out a small “psst!” under her breath.

“Daryl,” She whispered out, listening as he let out a small " _hm_ ," in response.

“Hey I’m…sorry if I creeped you out back there, out on the bus,” She whispered, her eyes falling to the grass, “I didn’t…”

“…S’fine,” He muttered out, shifting and turning his body over so he could face her. He saw her pained smile and her sad yet thankful eyes. His jaw bobbed in thought as his eyes fell to the grass, internally debating on whether not he should ask the question; the one that had been bugging him since he first laid eyes on her walking into the courtyard.

“How’d ya do it?” He asked her, looking over at her furrowed eyebrows, “How’d ya make it through the winter on yer own like that…”

The girl’s bottom lip curled in between her teeth as her eyes fell away from him again.

“I didn’t, I…” She paused, her fingers gripping onto a chunk of her sleeping bag, “…I found people. They found me when I got sick and nearly froze to death out there. They took me and the wolves in…”

“Why didn’t ya stay with em?” He asked, curiousity clear in his hushed, raspy voice.

“They weren’t my people,” She replied honestly, her lips pursing at the very thought of them, “They were monsters.”

Her last three words seemed to transform Daryl’s demeanor. He went from awkward and cautious to blank-faced and intense within seconds. Kei furrowed in concern, watching as the hunter’s jaw bobbed and his steely blues bore at her dark browns.

“They hurt ya?” He asked, his tone of voice making Kei furrow more. His voice was low, but tame and surprisingly calm. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, let alone feeling right now; Sad? Sympathetic? Angry beyond all reason? She couldn't pinpoint it.

 “Kei,” He muttered sternly, ripping the girl from her thoughts, “I asked ya somethin’, did they hurt ya?”

The girl looked down at the grass, the words seeming to get stuck in her throat. Yes. That’s all she had to say, one word. Yes, they hurt her. They hurt her pets. They kept her prisoner, they tortured her. But she got even in the end, and she got out with her life. She found her people. She found Daryl. She was safe.

“Y…” The word got stuck again. She took in a small shaky breath, exhaling slowly, “Yeah…they did.”

She looked up, watching Daryl as his jaw bobbed and his head nodded.

“Badly?” He asked.

She nodded her head, biting her bottom lip as she avoided his intense stare.

“They held me there for months,” She admitted, “I tried to escape but…it’s kinda hard, trying to slip past thirteen guys unseen. Every time I tried, they would just beat Ren and Ame and then drag me out back to…”

Her cheek stung and her spine ached at the very thought, the very memory of Dago and his men. That was a dark winter, an absolute hell, a nightmare she never wanted to experience again.

“…Did ya kill ‘em?” She heard Daryl’s voice mutter. The girl looked over at him, her eyebrows slightly raised. To be honest, she never expected to hear something like that come out of his mouth. Still, she nodded slowly to him,

“Seven of them. I took out two, Ren and Ame took out five...but the rest are still alive.”

She watched as the hunter nodded, his eyes wandering over her, scanning her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what could have happened those months she was alone with that group. Thirteen men, one sick and vulnerable and pretty girl all huddled together under one roof in the dead of winter. Sure he didn’t know the extent of how bad it was (which he internally swore to find out later), nor did he know the gritty details of it, but he knew that whatever happened had left her a lot more messed up than she dared to show. The way she gripped her blankets and avoided his stare in silent shame, the way her lips pursed and how she curled her body, he’d seen it all before. She may have arrived to them all happy and strong like some sort of superhero that couldn't be tamed or broken in any way, but she was just as much a wounded animal as they were, if not more. The group had each other to cling onto during the winter. Kei had no one, and he could tell that left a mark on her.

The thought of her alone against those guys, all of them beating her, tossing her around like a piece of meat, it made his blood rush and the fire in his twisting stomach burn and ache. He wanted to get up and find their camp and tear every single one of those guys apart. He wanted to show them just what happens when someone fucks with his own.

But tonight was not the night. He could tell by Kei's pained expression that she just wanted to drop it for tonight and sleep. And he would for her. 

The dark haired girl let out a small sigh and turned her body over, her back now facing the hunter.

“Let’s just get some sleep,” She whispered, shifting around in attempts to get comfortable on her sleeping bag. Daryl’s lips twisted to the side and he chewed on his bottom lip.

“Hey,” He called out softly.

She turned her head to him, her eyes looking curiously over at his. He scooted to the side a little and patted the empty spot next to him.

“C’mere,”

The girl blinked a few times before slowly sitting up, her blanket wrapped tightly around her. She quietly made her way over and laid down beside him, snuggling into his chest as he took her into his arms. He held her close as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck, the hushed sounds of their breathing with the chirps of the crickets and frogs gently lulling her to sleep. Daryl looked up at the stars, his mind reeling over what Kei had just told him. If only he had gotten her on the damn bike at the time, if only he had went back for her when he found the others were safe. Maybe none of it would have happened. He would've found her and she would've been back with her people. She would've been back with him. She would've been safe. Maybe none of what she went through with that group of assholes would have happened. If only he had gotten her on the damn bike at the time...

Kei let out a small sigh. Daryl looked down at her sleeping form, it seeming to calm him and his mind down quite a bit. The corner of his mouth perked up at her. At least she was back with them now, alive and unscathed, on the outside at least.

Daryl held the exhausted girl close and shut his eyes, adjusting his head around on his pillow in attempts to get comfortable. As he laid there and started falling asleep, he swore to himself that if anyone put their hands on her like that again, he would take them off.


	20. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well what're we gonna do?" He asked, "If there are walls down, there’s no way we could rebuild this place by ourselves."
> 
> "We can't risk a blind spot," The leader spoke firmly, "We have to push in."

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=64490656) shouldered her Katana and shoved her flashlight into her side pocket. She gripped the handle of her wakisaishi (a shorter companion sword to her katana) and walked towards the rest of her group. Everyone crowded around the front gate that lead into the prison, gearing up and mentally preparing for what was about to go down. Stopping next to Maggie, Kei looked over to her,

"Ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Maggie spoke, taking in a big breath and letting it out. She gripped her machete tight as Rick's voice rang through the air,

"Everyone ready?"

His eyes passed around to everyone and they all nodded. Daryl, T-Dog, Kei, Glenn, and Maggie all crowded behind Rick, readying their weapons as Rick's hand latched onto the clips that chained and held the gates together. Hershel had his fingers latched onto the fence, looking over to the leader sternly,

"You ready?"

Rick nodded firmly, and in one swift motion he unlatched the clips and swung the gate open. T-Dog charged through first and took the first Walker down, shoving his fire iron through the creature’s head. Rick quickly came in next and cut the second Walker down with his machete.

Kei's heart raced and her adrenaline spiked as they inched along. A large horde of Walkers in prison garb began crowding around them. With a series of rapid and deep breaths she lunged forward, shoving her sword through the eye of a Walker. She yanked it back out and kicked the corpse down, turning and swinging her sword in an arc. She sliced off the head of another Walker, this one in prison guard attire.

The group continued inching along. Her eyes darted around and spotted another Walker approaching her side, one more not too far behind. She let out an annoyed grunt and rushed forward, reaching her sword back and swiftly thrusting it down vertically into the Walker's skull. She watched as her knife cut through the walker’s head, managing to slice half its face right off. Daryl rushed up behind her and plunged his knife up through the jaw of the other Walker. He yanked out his knife and stood back as the creature fell over. Without missing a beat he grabbed Kei’s arm pulled her back, the two of them returning to formation.

"Don’t break rank!” Rick shouted out suddenly, “T!"

“We need that!”

The two looked over their shoulders, seeing T-Dog had broken rank and grabbed a riot shield. He gripped it tightly and tackled an oncoming Walker with it, knocking it to the ground. As T-Dog rushed back into formation, Maggie broke it and ran forward, Rick shouting after her. The girl struck like a viper and shoved her machete through the walker’s head, quickly retreating back to the group and at Glenn’s side.

"Almost there!" Rick announced.

The six moved steadily and quietly through the courtyard, their backs slightly pressing together as they shuffled along towards a side entrance. Rick stepped forward and opened a door to the inside, looking in momentarily before stepping towards the gate that they were aiming for. Kei stepped forward as well, but stopped in her tracks when Rick came to a sudden stop and retreated behind the wall, pinning his back up against it as he hissed out a swear.

Everyone instantly stood up against the wall as Rick threw his hand up, signaling for them to halt. Hissing and growls were loud, signaling the source wasn’t too far from where the group was. Kei leaned over slightly and looked ahead, her eyes widening when she saw a massive herd of Walkers staggering around behind a chain link fence. The gate was wide open. If they caught sight of them, or a whiff of any of their scents, they would be overwhelmed.

Kei noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and looked out towards the end of the courtyard. Two Walkers clad in riot gear suddenly came stumbling out from behind a nearby dumpster. Two more suddenly emerged from behind the corner of the wall they were up against, making the six stumble back as the creatures caught them in their sights.

Daryl rushed forward and pulled the trigger of his crossbow, an arrow flying out and smacking into the face mask of the Riot Walker's helmet. The bolt bounced off and fell to the ground, making Daryl glance over at Rick. The leader took a deep breath and then rushed forward to attack a SWAT Walker, the others following suit.

Kei rushed past Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog and made a beeline towards the two Riot Walkers by the dumpster. She quickly re-sheathed her short sword and reached back, swiftly pulling out her Katana. She lunged forward and shoved her shoulder into the bulletproof vest of the SWAT Walker, knocking it to the ground. She turned her attention to the other, watching as its arms reached out in attempts to grab her. She jumped back and gripped her sword tight before lunging forward and slamming it down onto the Walkers helmet. The sharp blade had managed to make a good crack, but it didn’t seem to hit deep enough to get to the skull.

Suddenly she heard Rick shout Daryl's name. The girl glanced over for a moment and watched Rick as he tackled a SWAT walker to the ground. He was pushing his way towards the gate. The girl then suddenly felt rough, glove clad hands latch onto her forearm and grip on tight. Muffled growling and hissing sounded in her ear. She turned around sharply and swung her sword around, watching as her blade managed to slice through the rotted and fleshy part of the Riot walker's neck like butter. Blood began spurting out like a fountain from its body, hitting her shoulder and arms as the head of the Walker with the cracked helmet clanged onto the ground. The walker's grip on her forearm instantly loosened and Kei yanked her arm away, giving her freedom to move once more.

Panting heavily, the girl turned her attention to the Walker she had knocked to the ground, walking over to the creature with anger burning in her eyes. It had bounced back quicker than she thought, the thing was slowly struggling to make its way back up. She lifted her leg and kicked it in the bck, watching as it fell back to the ground on its stomach. She grabbed the creature by its vest and flipped it over on its back. She planted her foot against its chest, pinning it down and hovering over it menacingly. She leaned down and ripped off its riot helmet, a few bits of flesh on its decayed face coming off with it. The Walker hissed and moaned at her as she tossed the helmet aside, incessantly chomping its rotted jaws at her. She stared down at it for a few seconds before gripping the handle of her sword tightly, raising it over her head before bringing it down and stabbing it in the skull.

Tearing her sword out, she huffed and turned around, flicking her sword to the side to get the extra blood off. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, walker blood smearing across her skin.

Silence fell over everyone, minus the chorus of growls from the mass of walkers that had slammed up against the now closed off fence. Everyone stared at each other for a few minutes. Glenn rushed to Maggie’s side, examining her for any bites or scratches. Kei staggered over to Daryl, the two of them one-arm hugging each other close. Daryl reached into his back pocket with his free hand and pulled out his red handkerchief, wiping off the blood on her sweaty forhead. Kei gently took it with a small smile and finished wiping her forehead herself. She turned around, seeing the rest of their group crowding around the gate, waiting to be let in. Glenn had started rushing towards them when Rick held out a hand,

"Wait."

Glenn instantly stopped and everyone looked over to their leader, seeing him staring at all the entrances to the inside of the prison. Glenn walked up to him, his arms out in slight confusion,

"It looks secure,"

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl pointed out, "And that's a civilian."

He pointed over to the female walker he had killed earlier on, the others looking over as well,

"So the inside of the prison might be overrun by Walkers from the outside…" T-Dog sighed. Glenn looked over to Rick,

"Well what're we gonna do?" He asked, "If there are walls down, there’s no way we could rebuild this place by ourselves."

"We can't risk a blind spot," The leader spoke firmly, "We have to push in."

Rick turned towards a fenced door and corridor, Daryl following after. Kei and the others glanced at one another before heading towards the rusted door and following after their leader.

They readied their weapons as Daryl opened the door. Rick rose his machete, waiting for something to come staggering out and attack. After seeing and hearing nothing, he stepped in. The others followed suit into the dark, listening to the eery silence that engulfed them.

 

The inside of the prison was insanely quiet. There were no prisoners howling, no guards shouting, no one slamming their bodies up against the prison doors. The barred door creaked loudly as Rick opened it, making Kei's heart thump loudly in her chest. Her feet found the stairs and she followed the rest of the group into the dark cellblock.

Kei looked around curiously as the others spread out. This place was completely empty, minus the papers and trash littered everywhere. The only source of light was coming from the small window, and in limited amounts due to the bars on them. She heard footsteps and turned around. Rick was walking down the stairs from the lookout tower, a ring of oddly shaped keys in his hands. Daryl whistled over at him, nodding his head towards an iron door to his right while walking over to it. Rick walked over as well and everyone crowded behind him. They watched as he stuck his arm through the bars, carefully unlocking the door and letting Daryl open it with another loud squeal. Kei pulled her short sword from her belt as she and the others stepped in.

Maggie followed the dark haired girl closely as they walked through the cellblock, looking into the cells for any undead prisoners waiting to strike. The area seemed almost too good to be true. It was quiet, and it appeared to be empty, so far free of any active walkers. The two girls walked back towards T-Dog, both of them jumping at the sound of banging and snarling coming from above. The three of them looked up, seeing Daryl and Rick standing on the top floor in front of the cells. Rick looked over the railing at his group,

"It’s alright," He spoke out, "Just some prisoners who turned."

Kei’s eyebrows raised as the Walkers's hisses abrubtly stopped short. Rick walked back down the stairs looking to each member sternly,

"Glenn, Maggie, Kei, go get everyone and tell ‘em to bring their stuff," He instructed, "T-Dog, help us clear the bodies. We'll start with the top floor."

T-Dog nodded and soon got to work, dragging out whatever bodies he could find while Glenn and the girls went for the group.

 

Daryl dragged the last walker body up onto the railing and shoved it over, the corpse dropping to the ground with a loud thud in front of T-Dog. T-Dog grabbed its legs and began to pull it out by the ankles, his head tilting over when he heard many footsteps flooding into the cellblock. The group entered, their sleeping gear and duffle bags in their hands.

"What do you think?" Rick asked out as he made his way down the stairs.

"Home sweet home," Glenn muttered as he passed Rick into a nearby cell.

"For the time being," The leader assured. He watched as everyone's eyes and heads jutted about, looking at every corner of the room.

"It's secure?" Lori asked, looking around as if it were too good to be true. Rick stared over at her, a faint proud smile on his face,

"This cellblock is…"

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

"In the morning, we'll find a cafeteria and infirmary," Rick assured.

"We...s-sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, her tone of voice slightly uneasy.

"We found some keys on a guards," Rick answered, "Daryl has a set too."

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage," Daryl stated firmly, "I'll take the perch."

His footsteps pattered across the top floor as he walked over to the small open area where the stairs met. Everyone began to scatter and find their own little patch of isolation. Kei followed the group upstairs and watched as everyone began to pair up. Lori and Carol bunked together, as did Glenn with Maggie, and Carl with Beth. Ame followed the young boy loyally, looking forward to nights of sleeping next to him once more. Kei held her backpack and sleeping bag close as she walked into an empty cell, carelessly dropping her bags to the ground. She glanced around at the blood splattered walls and the stained floors, but she quickly ignored them when she saw the empty bed in the corner, all ready and waiting to be slept in.

Tossing her sleeping bag and pillow onto the lower bunk, she leaned down and crawled onto the mattress. It was actually quite comfy despite how it looked. The pad of cotton wrapped in leather was squishy and soft. Her aching back and shoulders thanked her to high heaven when she laid down on it. She rested her head down on her pillow, letting out a long sigh of relief as her tense muscles began to relax. She turned her head and watched as Ren dragged a blanket across the floor by mouth and brought it up to her master's leg. Kei gave her a lazy smile and took it, patting the red wolf's head lovingly.

" _Arigato_ ,"  
(Thank you.)

She pulled the blanket over her body and watched with sleepy eyes as Ren trotted out of the cell. Probably to sleep next to Daryl, no doubt. The serene atmosphere and the comforting silence made Kei's eyes droop, and it wasn't long before she finally fell asleep.


	21. Seed pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I heard somethin’,” Maggie whispered back.
> 
> “A walker?” Kei asked, watching as the brunette shook her head.
> 
> “A voice, it was callin' for Glenn,” She answered, “I think it might've been the others.”

Kei awoke the next morning still very sleepy. She hadn't had a good rest like that in months, and a measly 8 hours wasn't nearly enough. She concluded to herself that after 3 days straight of sleep, she would surely be right again.

She slid off the bed and stretched, her muscles tensing briefly before relaxing. She let out a yawn as she grabbed the blankets out of her duffle, tying them up around the bars of her cell and turning them into privacy curtains so that she could change. She shed yesterday's sweaty, tattered clothing and put on a relatively [fresher set](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=64797058&lid=1950767). After changing, she pushed her makeshift blanket curtain aside and walked out into the cell block.

She made her way downstairs where she had a filling feast of 3 slices of jerky and a scoop of peanut butter. After breakfast, she went on to find Rick, only to hear from Carol that he and a couple of the men went out to find any weapons or gear on any of the prison guard walkers. It wasn't long after that they came back. When they did, they had tossed their findings onto the table in the other room, discussing amongst each other what was useful and what wasn't. Kei walked in to join them, looking down at the table with an impressed expression.

"Not bad," She chimed, looking through the supplies with a critical eye.

"Flash bangs, CS triple chasers," Rick spoke, holding up a small metal can, "Not sure how they work on Walkers, but we'll take em…"

Kei went on to study the pistols on the table, taking them in her hands and pulling out the clips. Daryl grabbed a riot helmet off the table and held it upside down, watching as yellowish liquid dripped out.

"I ain't wearin this shit," He grunted in disgust.

T-Dog held a glove upside down, watching as a mass of pus and gook dripped out onto the floor. Kei winced in disgust, putting her hand over her nose.

"We could boil 'em," T-Dog offered, watching as the hunter shook his head firmly.

"Ain't 'nough firewood in the whole forest, no!" He picked up a police baton and started swinging it like a bat, "'Sides, we got this far without ‘em, right?"

"Hershel?"

They all looked up to see Carol in the doorway, her head jutting back towards the cellblock where their group resided.

"Everything alright?" Rick asked. Carol started to make her way back before stopping to look at him expressionlessly.

"Yeah, nothin' to worry about,"

Hershel moved from the table and followed after Carol towards the cell block. Kei looked to the leader and watched as his eyes fell to the floor. She could tell that something was picking away at this man, and it was getting in the way between him and Lori. She wasn't blind, and she certainly wasn't stupid. Those two were drifting, and it was beginning to really show.

Her attention quickly went over to Daryl as he reached over and grabbed a grenade. She watched as he shook it, stared at it for a moment, then shook it next to his ear in curiosity. A smile couldn't help but appear on her face. He caught sight of it immediately and looked at her, watching as she looked away quickly and turned her attention towards the gun in her hand. He let out a scoff through his nose and continued to sift through their findings.

 

It was time to head back out into the heart of the prison. Kei recited the schedule in her head: Clear out Walkers, find the key areas like the armory, cafeteria, and the infirmary, and then head back to the cellblock. Sounded simple enough, but even she knew it was easier said than done. Rick helped T-Dog put on a bullet proof riot vest while Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie readied their weapons. Kei shouldered her Katana and loaded her 9mm handgun, placing it in between her belt and her jeans.

"Kei," T-Dog called out, tossing her a small flashlight. She caught it quickly and nodded to him, placing it in her back pocket. She returned her attention to making sure her knife and katana were secure. After that she turned to Rick and watched as he handed Carl the keys,

"Great, let's go."

The group began to flood out of the cellblock, Rick taking point to lead the rest of them. Kei was the last to exit, but stopped in front of the cell block door. She turned to look to Carl as he shut it, watching as his big blue eyes looked up at her. She put her fingers through the bars, placing them on his own with reassurance. Her expression had said enough to him. She would bring them back, and she would bring them back alive. He nodded to her firmly, determination and bravery beaming from his expression. She smiled. This young boy who was once so fearful was growing up to be so brave. He knew he had others to look out for now, and he had proven himself more than once that he was capable of protecting this group. She was so proud of him.

"We'll be back," She whispered quietly.

And with those words, she turned away and followed the group on towards the eery darkness of the tombs.

 

Slowly, they wound through new hallways and new doors. Daryl stuck his hand through the bars of one door and unlocked it, slowly opening it up with a squeal. Slowly, they walked through the door and into the dark, the eeriness and the quiet of it all creating a thick sense of tension in the air. Everyone turned on their flashlights and pointed them forward, the light helping them see their way through he dark corridors.

They treaded over the damp concrete floors with caution, looking around every which way. Daryl, T-Dog and Rick were up front, Maggie and Kei in the middle, Hershel and Glenn taking up the back. They each held their weapons at the ready, prepared for any Walkers that might show their moldy, puss covered faces around the corner. No one said a word, their breathing was light. The air was thick with tension and adrenaline, all of them being as quiet as they could so that they didn’t attract whatever dangers lurked in the dark.

They turned another corner, facing a hall littered with corpses and barred doors that were wide open in each direction. The rank and musty smell of wet dust and damp rotted flesh wafted through the air, making Kei wrinkle her nose in disgust. She stepped over and around the corpses on the ground, deceased bodies stripped of flesh in patches, puddles of blood long since dried surrounding each one. She saw Glenn pull out a can of white spray paint and began painting arrows along the walls. They pointed back towards the cellblock, acting as a guide for them in case it got too hairy and they needed to retreat. She winced a little at the the hissing from the can, the sound seeming even louder as it echoed in the empty hall around them. After finishing the arrow, he turned back around and accidentally bumped into Maggie. She let out a loud yelp in response.

Everyone shot around quickly and watched wide eyes as Glenn let out a small and quiet "Sorry." He held her shoulder in reassurance and the two walked forward together. Kei let out a slow and shaky breath, following after them as Rick turned and motioned for everyone to keep moving. Flashlights darted back and forth, everyone searching for any sign of movement. Everyone's breathing was tense, but quiet. They listened closely, ears searching for a sound other than their feet shuffling, or heart beats thumping.

Rick came to a sudden stop at the end of a corner, leaning up against it and briefly looking back at everyone. Kei and the others held onto their weapons tightly. Rick then looked over to Daryl. He gave the hunter a small nod and the two men jumped around the corner, shining their lights down to the end of the empty hallway. Nothing. The leader slowly stepped forward and pointed his light towards the wall beside him, signaling for Glenn to place an arrow there.

As they reached another crossroad of hallways, Glenn spray painted another arrow. Rick and Daryl looked down each of the hallway ends, checking to make sure there were no walkers wandering about. The first hallway to their right was empty. As Rick and the others wandered to the hallway on the left, Kei started lagging when she heard a loud and odd noise. She stopped in place, lowered her flashligt, and held her breath. It sounded like a muffled thump, like something had knocked into something else. The girl took in a sharp breath through her nose and rushed forward, following the rest of the group closely as they stalked along down the seemingly empty hallway.

Up ahead, she saw Rick and Daryl just barely turn the corner before the sound of snarling and hissing echoed through the air.

"Go back…" Rick whispered hastily.

Kei watched Daryl and Rick’s flashlights frantically shine over a small horde of walkers in prison gear. They had quickened their pace and began staggering forward towards the small group. Maggie, and Glenn latched onto Kei’s arm and jumped back, tugging her along as they started making a run for it.

"Go back, go back!" Rick shouted and they all turned, quickly jogging back the way they came. Daryl and Rick quickly made their way up to the front of the group to guide the rest out of harm’s way,

Kei turned her head and held her flashlight over her shoulder. She saw the horde staggering after them a lot quicker than she had expected. Then again, they were probably the first meal the horde had seen in ages, naturally that would rile them up a lot more than regular Walkers in the outside world. She turned around and quickly caught up up behind Glenn and Maggie. The two of them were beginning to lag behind as well.

"This way!" Rick's voice bounced off the concrete walls. Glenn, Maggie, and Kei were struggling to keep up with them. Kei kept her eyes fixed on Daryl’s angel winged vest several feet ahead. She watched as he and the others crossed a hallway and kept pushing forward. Just as she was about to cross the hallway as well, Kei smacked straight into a Walker, knocking it back and almost getting herself caught in it's grip in the process. Another one was coming up quick to her left. Glenn grabbed for her arm and yanked her back, dragging her and Maggie into a nearby closet.

"In here!" He yelled.

They flung themselves inside and Glenn slammed the door shut. The three jumped when Walkers slammed themselves up against the door. They clawed and pounded and hissed in attempts to get in. Kei panted heavily and ran a hand through her hair in stress. Glenn pointed his flashlight in her direction,

"You hurt?" He whispered. Kei squinted her eyes against the intense light and shook her head in response. Glenn let out a sigh of relief and pointed his flashlight to the floor as he looked over to his girlfriend,

"Maggie?"

"F-Fine," She assured, putting her hand to her heaving chest. Kei looked around the rather large closet, shining her flashlight towards the back. She found metal shelves and small plastic totes, but they only seemed to be filled with janitor supplies like sponges and cleaner. She let out a small huff. Nothing of good use against walkers.

"The bangin’s stopped," Maggie mentioned quietly while looking to the door. Kei and Glenn glanced at each other before looking to the door as well. They listened closely with Maggie, the three of them trying to control their harsh breathing. It really was quiet. They didn’t hear hissing, just the sound of their own heavy pants and tense breathing. The Walkers must have given up and wandered off.

"What should we do?" Kei asked, “Should we try to find them?”

Glenn shook his head and looked from one woman to the other,

"They could be anywhere," He insisted, "Let's try to find the arrows and head back. I don’t want us getting lost and end up running into another group like tha—"

“Shhh!” Maggie let out suddenly, pointing her flashlight over to the door. Glenn immediately went silent and furrowed.

“What?” He whispered.

“I heard somethin’,” Maggie whispered back.

“A walker?” Kei asked, watching as the brunette shook her head.

“A voice, it was callin' for Glenn,” She answered, “I think it might've been the others.”

The three of them exchanged hesitant looks before Glenn finally nodded and turned off his flashlight. The girls turned their lights off as well and the three stood up. Glenn slowly opened the door, a loud creak coming from the hinges. Kei listened closely as they stepped out. No Walkers nearby. No heavy footsteps or menacing growls, just the sounds of their frantic breathing as Glenn turned every which way.

"Rick!?" He whispered sharply into the dark.

"Daddy!?" Maggie whispered out as well.

Kei was on high alert, keeping her steps light and her ears open for any Walkers. They slowly crept around a few corners, waiting for a response as Maggie continued to whisper out for her dad.

It was then a blood curdling suddenly cry came out of nowhere and Kei's heart leapt up in her throat. Frantic human cries echoed through the hallways, and that only made her adrenaline spike as they rushed forward to find the source. A loud cry followed by a single gunshot rang through their ears. That only made Kei's heart pound harder, and their legs move quicker as they rounded a corner, seeing a mass of struggling flashlights, and Hershel sprawled out on the floor with a blood stain forming on his lower pant leg.

"NO! Daddy!" Maggie's voice cracked. She cried out for him, her eyes spilling with tears at the sight of his bloody leg, and the fallen walker beside him with chunks of flesh in it’s mouth. Kei stared in shock as Rick and Glenn grabbed Hershel's arms and began hoisting him up. As they did so, Kei’s ears perked up at the foul sound of hisses over Maggie’s frantic cries. The girl turned around sharply, her hand instantly reaching in back for her sword.

"Walkers!" She shouted, watching as they had spilled out from the hall behind Maggie. Rick looked up quickly and he and Glenn slung Hershel's arms over their shoulders,

"Daryl!"

The hunter darted forward and pushed Kei back.

"Go! Go! Go!"

He pulled the trigger of his crossbow, taking down prison walker that had staggered up to the front. Kei grabbed onto Maggie's arm and pulled her along through the hallways, following Rick and Glenn as they frantically carried Hershel through any hallway that crossed their path.

"Run! We’re blocked! Get back, get back!" T-Dog shouted. Walkers had come out of the hallway in front of them. The group double-backed towards Daryl and went down the last available hallway.

"Oh God! Oh God!" Hershel yelled, the excruciating pain and the fear of it all becoming too much for him.

"T!" Rick shouted as they stopped at a door that had been handcuffed shut. Kei turned and looked back at the horde of Walkers. They were coming in close. She turned and watched as Maggie and Daryl and everyone frantically shouted and barked for T-Dog to open it. Kei quickly slid out her sword and watched as one walker in prison guard wear began staggering towards them faster than the rest of the horde. She let out a frustrated grunt and charged forward, ignoring Daryl’s voice bark out her name over her groups yells. She swung her sword across the Walker's head, slicing off the top half in one go. The creature crumpled to the ground and another one staggered up in its place. Kei quickly pulled back her sword and thrusted the blade up through its jaw.

Just as she yanked her blade back out, T-Dog had shoved through everyone and slammed his fire iron down through the handcuff chain, yanking back and snapping it in half. He then lunged forward and shoved the doors open with his shoulder,

"Get in! Get in! Get in!" He yelled, frantically ushering Rick and the others through.

Daryl rushed forward towards Kei and latched onto her arm, pulling her back and through the door like his life depended on it. He shoved her forward as T-Dog slammed the doors shut behind them. The Walkers slammed against the steel doors and started banging and groaning loudly. Daryl growled and slammed his body against the doors, T-Dog and Kei following suit. T-Dog pushed all of his weight into the door as the Walkers slammed up against it once again.

"Daryl! Kei! Go!" He shouted. The man struggled as he shoved his fire stoke through the two door handles. Daryl ran forward and fell to his knees next to Hershel, pinning the man’s other leg down as Rick ripped off the pant leg of the other, exposing the monstrous chunk missing from his leg. Kei rushed over and fell to her knees as well, sticking by Hershel's side and looking at his wound in shock. Her thoughts began to race a mile a minute, her brain running against the clock as it tried to find a solution: " _Okay, a bite wound on the calf,"_ She thought, _"Fatal. The wound provides a stronghold to the virus, which will spread to other parts of the body._ " She nodded to herself, taking deep, frantic breaths to try and calm herself down. " _Okay, okay. Keep the virus from spreading. Cut it off somehow to keep it from spreading._ "

And that's when Kei's eyes widened.

Cut it off.

Wasting no time, she reached over and yanked the hatchet from Hershel's belt and leaned over, reaching out and handing it to the leader.

"Rick," She spoke quickly, watching as his frantic blue eyes looked towards her. His eyes fell to the hatchet for only a second as things began to process. His eyebrows furrowed as he nodded firmly with a few sharp breaths through his nose.

She watched as Rick tore his belt from around his waist and hastily wrapped it just above Hershel's knee as tightly as it would go. Daryl put all his weight down on the farmer's lower body to keep him from moving. Hershel's one good fist helplessly beat against the hunter's back as he howled in pain. Maggie held her father's head in her hands for dear life, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched her father cry and call out her name.

Rick's fingers wrapped around the handle of the hatchet and he held it tight. He looked at Hershel's leg, and then back to Hershel, not even giving so much as a second thought,

"Only one way to keep you alive!"

He raised the hatchet over his head and slammed the blade down onto Hershel's leg. Kei screwed her eyes shut, flinching at the sound of blood hitting the floor, and metal hacking against bone and flesh. Hershel's screams were unbearable, along with Maggie's sobs.

Not long after, Hershel's screams subsided and he lost consciousness. With one more swing of the hatchet, Rick severed the rest of the man’s leg, dropping the hatchet and staring down in horror at what he just did.

"Oh jesus...," Rick's voice struggled to say, "He's bleeding out…"

Kei's eyes looked back over to the severed leg, her stomach turning over as she tried to mentally settle her sick stomach. Before she even had time to let out a gag, she heard Daryl suddenly mutter out a low "Duck." She saw movement from the corner of her eye and looked over, the rest of her group ducking down as Daryl jumped up. He pointed his crossbow at the wired window ahead. The flashlight docked under the sights of his weapon shone into the eyes of five figures as they stared in. Kei stared back in shock.

Five men, all in prison garb, looking very much alive.

The smallest man to the right placed his hand to the wired window and look out at them with wide eyes,

"Holy shit…"


	22. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She look familiar, don’t she?” He asked, pointing one large finger over at her, “I swear I seen her somewhere before.”
> 
> “How, man? You been locked up in here all this time,” Andrew spoke, tilting his head and staring at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, little darlings! I hope you're all well. ^.^  
> sorry if I've been a little silent lately, i haven't been feeling quite myself.  
> but writing and drawing is helping. I've been randomly drawing tea labels for this fanfic, believe it or not.  
> I actually really love them, no joke, like I love my (Tea)WD ones, but the ones I'm doing for this fic are pretty rad.
> 
> I think i'm gonna update later today as well, I'm feeling it.  
> I hope you all have a wonderful day, enjoy! xx

"Who the hell’re you!?" Daryl barked.

"Who the hell are you!? One of the prisoners retorted. The hunter approached the five figures that stood behind the window of wire slowly. Rick struggled around to find cloth of somekind as Hershel began to bleed out from the fresh amputation on his lower leg. Kei was assigned to help out with the poor farmer as T-Dog continued to press his back up against the doors. He struggled to shove his fire iron through the door handles, attempting to keep the walkers from breaking in.

"He's bleeding out," Rick spoke hastily, turning his head to look back at his group, "We gotta go back! Kei, I’m gonna need your shirt! Maggie! Come 'round here, put pressure on the knee! Hard! Hard! Push!"

Kei slid off her shirt and handed it over to Rick, straightening out her tank top with one free hand as Rick took it with haste. He balled up kei's shirt and shoved it against the wound, instructing Maggie to press it down hard against the bloody stump. The brunette girl nodded frantically, sniffling and trying to keep a level head as she attempted to stop the bleeding.

"Come on outta there, slow and steady…"

Kei glanced over her shoulder, seeing Daryl back away slowly as the prisoners filed into the room. There they were; five men, all in blue prison garb, looking very much alive. She couldn't believe it. These prisoners had survived.

"What happened to him?" The 3rd tallest inmate asked cautiously while walking in, his dark eyes peering over at Hershel. The other inmates followed in behind him, their eyes on the same thing as well. Daryl kept his crossbow aimed at their heads, ready for whatever move these strangers decided to make.

"He got bit," He answered.

"Bit?" The black haired inmate’s eyes widened and he pulled a small gun out of the lip of his pants. Daryl lurched forward as T-Dog raised his gun, their eyes dead set on the prisoner with the weapon.

"Woah, woah, woah, easy now," Daryl assured carefully, "Ain’t nobody needs to get hurt."

"I need you to hold this," Rick mumbled frantically to Maggie, handing her a bundle of  old washcloths that he received from Glenn.

“K-Kay,” The girl choked out, getting on her knees and taking the cloth.

“As hard as you can,” Rick instructed. The girl nodded rapidly and continued pressing down on her father’s wound as Glenn jumped up. He ran over and through the door the prisoners entered through,

"Do you have medical supplies!?"

“Whoa! Where do you think you’re going?!” The biggest and tallest inmate called.

"Who the hell are you people anyway!?" The black haired prisoner asked out, his eyes wide with confusion and fear.

"Don't look like no rescue team," The mustached prisoner to the right spoke in a heavy southern drawl.

"If a rescue team is what yer waitin for, don't!" Rick barked as he scrambled to pick up Hershel, "Come on we gotta go! Now! Come on! Kei! Maggie, I need a hand here! Grab his legs!"

Glenn rushed in from the kitchens with a long metal wheel table. Maggie and Kei sprung into action as they grabbed Hershel's legs. Rick and Glenn had his torso, the four of them yanking him up and laying his body down on the makeshift gurney. The four of them spun the rolling tabletop around towards the door, Rick taking the lead,

"T! The door!" He called.

"You’re crazy! Don't open that!" The smallest prisoner shouted.

"We got this!" T-Dog yelled.

Kei ran forward and swiftly yanked her katana from its sheath, just as T-Dog yanked his fire iron out from the door. He tore the doors open and a riot walker was the first to stagger through. T-Dog rammed the creature against the wall, shoving the fire poker up through its jaw. Another one staggered in and Kei thrusted her sword into its skull, kicking it back to the ground and waving for Rick,

"Let's go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

"Daryl, Daryl!" Rick shouted for him to follow as he rushed through the door, following Kei and T-Dog into the dark hallway. Kei clicked on her flashlight and rushed through the hall, the sound of squeaking wheels and rushed breathing bouncing off the walls around her. Her flashlight went from side to side towards the walls, her eyes looking frantically for the white arrows that would lead them back to the cell block. She quickly caught sight of a Walker up ahead and she lunged forward, shoving her foot against the walker's chest. The creature tipped over and fell flat on its back. She rushed forward and held her sword up, thrusting the bloody blade of her knife down and in through its eye socket.

"This way, this way!"

The rest of her group rushed passed her with Hershel's body. She felt a strong hand place itself on her arm, pulling her along with them as they went. The light of her flashlight shone on the back of her holder, dirty white angel wings shining back at her.

A small group of Walkers snarled up ahead and Rick halted the metal gurney, turning it around quickly,

“No, no, no, no! Back! Back!” He yelled, “Daryl!”

Daryl turned around and a Walker approached him quickly. He raised his crossbow and pressed the trigger without missing a beat, sending an arrow through the Walker's head. Running up as it slumped to the ground, he quickly yanked the bolt from its skull and waved for the others,

"Come on! Go, go, go!"

Kei saw a shadow darting after Daryl from behind and she ran up, kicking the civilian Walker to the ground. She quickly rose her sword and thrust down, stabbing it in the forehead. She felt another hand reach out and latch onto her arm, Glenn pulling her back into the group.

The group went silent as they made their way through the damp and dark corridor. They carefully followed the arrows as they turned corners and rushed along hallways. Daryl halted suddenly when he heard voices coming from behind them. He looked over his shoulder, Rick hearing them as well as he pointed back,

"Stop, stop!"

The group all froze in place, turning and following Daryl and Rick's fingers as they pointed back. Shadows danced across the walls before the prisoners emerged from behind the corner. They were headed in their direction. Everyone turned back around and Daryl pushed his group forward quickly, Rick hissing for everyone to move as fast as they could to their cellblock.

Daryl jumped forward as they finally came to the last door and he opened it up with his key. He shoved the door open with his shoulder and waved his hand; Rick, Glenn, and Maggie pushing through as they rushed towards the cellblock door,

“He’s losin’ too much blood!” Maggie choked.

"Open the door!" Rick shouted out, "It's Hershel! Carl!"

"Kei!" Daryl called out, his voice making the girl stop and turn at an instant. He gave her a sharp whistle and jerked his head, gesturing for her to stay behind and follow him. The girl furrowed in confusion before turning her head, giving one last glance at Hershel before he disappeared into the cell block.

She turned her head back around and saw Daryl heading over to the table in the center of the room. He put one foot up on the seat and readied his crossbrow, propping his elbow up on his knee. His eyebrows were knitted and his lips were pursed, which meant that shit was about to start soon enough. The girl put her index finger and thumb to her mouth and whistled sharply.

Paws pattered across the prison floor. Ren rushed through from the cell block and stood loyally at her master's side. The red wolf's piercing eyes were wide with determination, waiting for Kei's next call. The dark haired girl tutted lightly and headed over to the table, Ren following closely beside her as they approached the hunter.

"What are you doing?" She asked, furrowing at him as he continued to eye the cell door in front of him.

"Prisoners’re followin’ us," He muttered, "'Bout to come through that door any second…"

Kei looked to the hunter, his eyes glued to the open doorway that lead to the tombs they had just left from.

“Gotta protect this group,” He finished, his eyes staring into the empty darkness only several feet ahead of him. Kei could see the burning determination on his face. He was committed to protecting this group, and he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep them alive. This realization made her heart thump in her chest, and a light smile flash across her face. This man...

She reached up over her back, carefully pulling her katana from its sheath and holding it firmly to her side.

"Hope yer wolf's up to takin’ a man's life," Daryl's raspy voice muttered as he stared firmly into his crossbow’s scope. Kei held her sword back and watched the door closely. She could hear footsteps approaching slowly through the dark and empty hall. They were close. She breifly looked down to her Red wolf. Ren's back was arched, her head low and face expressing a menacing snarl. She smiled lightly and looked back towards the door,

"She’ll do what she has to,"

"Good," Daryl replied.

"I will too," The girl remarked honestly.

Daryl looked to her for a moment and watched her smile at him lightly. The corner of his mouth quirked up a little. However, it quickly faded when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a body emerge from the dark. Slowly, a long faced prisoner with tattoos and tanned skin walked out. His dark eyes instantly went to Daryl, their eyes fixed on each other as he stepped further into the sunlight. The other four prisoners followed suit, emerging from dark one by one. They glanced over at Kei as they stepped in, and then down at Ren in shock as they stepped in further. Daryl narrowed his eyes, his grip on his crossbow tight,

"S'far enough," He warned.

The prisoners stopped and looked at him, their eyes wide with both caution and confusion. The long faced inmate glanced at Kei and her wolf, then over to the cellblock, and then back to Daryl,

"Cell block C, cell four," He mentioned in a low voice, pointing over to the cellblock behind them, "That's mine, _gringo_. Let me in."

"Today's yer lucky day fellas," Daryl quipped, "You been pardoned by the state of Georgia, yer free to go."

"Whatchu got goin’ on in there?" The Latino prisoner asked.

"Ain't none of your concern," The hunter jeered.

"Don't be tellin' me what's my concern," The prisoner warned quickly. He yanked his gun back out and Daryl's muscles tensed as he stood up straight, steadying his aim. Seeing the gun made Kei's eyes widen and her heart jump in her chest. Swiftly she stepped forward, her sword practically touching the tip of the gun's barrell. Ren stepped up next to her master and snarled, the four other prisoners backing away slowly in panic. The long faced prisoner held his ground and looked over at Kei, a smirk crossing his face as he pointed his gun at her,

"And who the hell is this?" He asked out, his eyes flicking up and down, “Kinda cute, ain’t she guys…”

"She’s someone yer gonna pay no mind to," Daryl warned, “You so much as look at her wrong and I’ll take yer damn eye out.”

"Well shit," The prisoner jeered with a smirk and a scoff, "You sure talk tough, Honky, I’m quakin’ in my boots…"

Daryl stepped off the table and moved forward, holding his crossbow out further. The prisoner pointed his gun right back at him. Kei inched forward and pointed her blade right at his neck, her eyes focused on the koi tattooed on it. The largest prisoner of the group stared down at the man with the gun and put a hand out,

"Chill man… dude's leg’s all messed up," He reasoned while gesturing towards the cell block, "'Sides, we're free to go now. Why we still in here?"

"Man's got a point," Daryl retorted as the other dark skinned prisoner looked over,

"Yeah man, I gotta check on my old lady," He mentioned out.

"A group of civilians breakin' _into_ a prison you’ve got no business bein' in," The black haired one deduced, "Got me thinkin there's no place for us _to_ go."

"Why don'tcha go find out?" Daryl challenged.

"Maybe we'll just be goin’ now…" The smaller man with the moustache said slowly.

"Hey, we ain't leavin!" The Latino man barked.

"You ain't comin in neither!"

T-Dog came out of nowhere with his gun raised and ready. The long faced prisoner whipped around fast and pointed his gun at T-Dog. Kei stepped forward with her sword pointing closer to the prisoner’s neck, watching as he jutted his head from side to side, looking from Daryl to T-Dog. All he had to do was lean a little and she could knick him.

"Hey! This is my house, my rules, I go where I damn well please!" The armed prisoner shouted while stepping forward. He pointed his gun down to Ren, who was now only a foot or so away from his leg, snarling and just waiting to bite at it, "And get this bitch outta my damn face!"

Ren let out a sharp bark, making all of the prisoners jump and stumble back at the sudden power and how loud it was in such a big and empty room.

"I ain't gonna tell ya again!" Daryl threatened loudly towards the small group of prisoners, "Yall need to turn yer sorry asses 'round and get the hell outta here! I'm gettin' real tired of your fuckin' voice!"

Four of the prisoners stepped back from the deadly tone in his voice, and Ren's menacing and hungry snarl. They could see as plain as day that they were outgunned by far, and they knew better than to cross a wild wolf with a look like that on it's face. However, Tomas wasn't so easily intimidated. He had a gun after all, and he figured that whoever had the most powerful weapon had final say. He just held his arms out and puffed out his chest, ready and rearing for a fight.

"Why don't you come over here and shut me up then, you fuckin' hick!?"

“You touch him and I will hack your fucking head off!” Kei hissed, eyeing Tomas as he pointed his gun towards her.

“You so much as take a step bitch, and I will—”

“You’ll fuckin’ regret it, is what!” Daryl seethed, “Try it and see what happens, asshole! Just try!”

“Oh you want me to?!” Tomas barked, holding his gun out towards the hunter, “You wanna fuckin’ test me?! You don't wanna go down that road, I'll fuck yall up!”

"You really think your sorry ass'll win against a wolf, a knife, a gun, and a crossbow?!" T-Dog shouted. Tomas pointed his gun at T-Dog, then back to Daryl when he saw him taking a few steps towards him,

"There ain't nothin’ for you assholes here!” The hunter barked, “Why don't you go back to your own sandbox and play in the dir-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" A strong male voice spoke out, "Everyone relax! There's no need for this!"

Rick rushed in quickly from the cell block, staring back and forth from his own group to the prisoners. Tomas hesitated for a moment and looked past Rick, then back to his disheveled appearance.

"How many of you in there?" He asked.

"Too many for you to handle," The leader assured. Tomas looked to each group member, his eyes wide with confusion and his mind reeling.

"You guys rob a bank or somethin'?" He asked, "Why don't you take him to a hospital?"

Kei's sword lowered slightly upon hearing Tomas' strange suggestion. A hospital? She exchanged glances with each of her fellow group members, all of them drawing the same conclusion.

"How long you been locked in that Cafeteria?" Rick asked.

Tomas looked to each member cautiously, his fingers regripping his gun as he kept it pointed towards Rick,

"Goin' on like 10 months..." He answered slowly.

 

Rick broke the news to the prisoners, and they seemed to have a hard time taking it in. They had been locked up in the cafeteria after a fire broke out in the prison. Prisoners were turning left and right, and all hell had broken loose. One guard had looked out for the five men and kept them bunkered down in the cafeteria. He gave Tomas his only gun and went out to scavenge for any survivors. He locked the cafeteria doors, and that was the last time they saw him.

Each of them had a hard time swallowing the news that everything was gone. They couldn't believe it. Andrew, a lanky, brown skinned man in his early 20's, and the smallest of the five had lost his sister. She was his only living relative since the death of their parents when they were teenagers. Big Tiny, a dark skinned man both large and tall in stature, had lost his mother. Oscar had lost his kids and mother, and Axel had lost his family, his dog, and his new girlfriend.

Tomas was the only one who didn't seem too convinced of this news. At least, he didn't seem too bent out of shape about it. He didn't appear to grieve over anyone he might have lost either. He showed little remorse after hearing who his fellow prisoners had lost. Kei wondered if he even had anyone in the first place.

Rick and the others led the prisoners out into the courtyard they had just cleared. They did it to show them the full extent of what they had missed in their ten months being locked up from the world. The five were a bit stunned as they stepped outside, seeing corpses littered everywhere across the blacktop.

"Man, this sun feels good," Oscar sighed, stretching out his arms as he welcomed the sun and the morning air.

"Good lord," Axel breathed as he looked around, "They're all dead..."

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences," Tomas scoffed, ignoring Axel's comment completely.

Rick, Daryl, Kei, and T-Dog walked into the courtyard behind the group of prisoners. Kei studied her surroundings, finally getting a chance to take it all in. This courtyard, the fences, the barbed wire…it was so familiar.

"You never said…," Andrew remarked as he looked over Daryl, "How the hell'd you get in here in the first place?"

"Cut a hole in that fence over there by that guard tower,"

Daryl pointed out towards the fence they had entered in. Andrew looked over, following his gaze.

"That easy huh?"

"There's a will, there's a way," Daryl spoke.

"Easy for you to say," Andrew replied, looking back over to the hunter. The small man then looked to the ground and began picking through all the trash, Daryl watching him closely. The largest prisoner, Big Tiny, poked at a Walker's body with the broken broom handle in his hand.

"So what is this, like, a disease?"

"Yeah…" Rick answered slowly, "...And we're all infected."

All the prisoners turned and stared at him in slight shock. The smaller man with the mustache, Axel, looked over at Rick,

"What do you mean infected?" He asked, "Like…AIDS or somethin?"

"If I was to kill you," Daryl explained, "Shoot an arrow in yer chest, you'd come back as one of these things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

“Doesn’t matter how it happens,” Kei spoke out suddenly, making the prisoners look to her in curiosity, “Whether it’s getting sick, bit, starving to death, or just offing yourself. If you die and don’t take a bullet to the head afterwards, you’re a walker.”

Just then Big Tiny took a few cautious steps forward, looking over her, making the girl furrow her eyebrows at him. He was giving her an odd look.

"You know... You look awfully familiar..." He remarked slowly. Kei looked to him, her throat clamping up immediately. All eyes were suddenly on her; Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog looking at her with furrowed eyebrows and peaked curiousity. Tomas took a few steps forward before stopping, squinting his eyes at her. The largest prisoner turned towards the rest of his group,

“She look familiar, don’t she?” He asked, pointing one large finger over at her, “I swear I seen her somewhere before.”

“Man, how? Your ass has been locked up in here this whole time,” Andrew spoke, clearly blowing off the guy's strange question. The girl suddenly felt small, like an animal being examined by a million critical faces pressed up against a glass. Daryl was looking at her. Rick was looking at her. T-Dog was looking at her. They were all waiting for her to speak up, to say no, to reject him, to agree with him, to explain herself. Her dark eyes lowered for a moment, her stomach twisting and her heart thumping. “ _Shit._ ” She thought, “ _Shit. Shit. Shit._ ”  She looked back to Big Tiny, then to the other prisoners,

"I…" Her voice caught in her throat. She coughed a little, attempting to clear it and try again.

"I was...I was in the…maximum security wing,” She admitted, her voice lowering as Rick and the others continued to look at her, “I got sent here a few years back for..."

Tomas narrowed his eyes, staring at her as his memories were reeling. Axel looked over at her with raised eyebrows and a slacked jaw,

"W-Whoa, wait hold on, you were sent _here_?” He asked with obvious surprise, looking her up and down, “Who’re you?"

"K…Keiko Watanabe," She answered, letting out a sigh at the prisoners’ blank stares, “… _Ch...Chica Demonio_ , as I came to be known by some of the—”

She heard snickering and looked over to Tomas, seeing a smile crossing his face as he leaned back and clapped.

"Aww yeah! You’re the Asian bitch who beat the shit out of Ramirez!" He exclaimed, pointing his finger out at her, "Shanked Rat Pack with a shiv your first week here! Got your ass tossed in here all those years ago 'cause you stabbed a bunch of people on the outside, even set one of your own fam on fire! They went missing last I heard!"

The image of flames spreading across the carpet floor flashed across Kei's mind, making her eyes shut impulsively. Words began spewing out of Tomas's mouth like a fountain, reminding his fellow inmates (and informing Kei's group indirectly) of the 16 year old demon girl that was out for her pound of flesh way back when. 

"If you touched her she'd break your hands," He went on to say, his impish grin growing wide at the girl's clear discomfort, "Guys used to say it was because her daddy used t-"

"That's enough!" Rick let out, glaring at Tomas as he held his hands up defensively, the grin never leaving his face.

 “Hey man, gotta love how fast things fly through a prison," He sneered, “Especially when some crazy bitch comes in and fucks shit u—"

"Hey!" Daryl barked, earning a look from the amused Prisoner, "Keep talkin’ shit and that 'crazy bitch' won’t be the only problem on yer hands, got it?!"

Kei only opened her eyes to look down at the pavement. She avoided the gaze of the prisoners, catching the eyes of Daryl and Rick as she turned away. “ _Fuck_ ,” She thought to herself. They found out. They found out about what she did, and what was worse, that was barely even a percentage of it! Pandora was beginning to claw its way out of the box, and if fucking _Tomas_ continued on like he did, Rick and the others would never trust her or look at her the same again.

Tomas simply shrugged and continued to snicker to himself before settling down. He turned around every which way, staring at the bodies around him,

"Ain't no way is this Robin Hood cat and Demon Girl over there responsible for killin' all these freaks," He stated in disbelief.

"Must be fifty bodies out here," Andrew remarked. He followed in Tomas' footsteps as the Latino prisoner turned back to Rick, his black eyes curious,

"Where'd you come from?"

"Atlanta," The brunette leader answered. Tomas nodded lightly and stalked his way back up to the former Officer, their eyes locked soley on each other.

"Where you headed?" The prisoner asked.

"For now, nowhere," Rick stated firmly, facing the Latino prisoner as he approached. Tomas looked over to the courtyard on his left, then to his right, and then back over to Rick. He turned around and pointed out towards a small lake.

"Guess you can take that area down there near the water," He suggested, as if already determined, "Should be comfortable."

"We're using that field for crops," Rick spoke.

"We'll help you move your gear out," Tomas went on, ignoring the leader completely. Rick wasn't having it.

"That won't be necessary," He stated firmly, "We took out these Walkers, this prison is ours."

"Woah, slow down cowboy," Tomas scoffed. Andrew walked up behind him.

"You snatched the locks off our doors," He bit, staring over at Rick with accusing eyes.

"We'll give you new locks if that's how you want it," Rick offered.

"This is _our_ prison," Tomas claimed firmly, holding out his arms, "We were here first."

"Locked in a broom closet?" Rick sassed, scoffing lightly, "We took it, set you free, its ours. We spilt blood!"

Rick's lip curled in resistance. Tomas was unfazed by his attempts and only smiled,

"We're movin back into our cell block," He asserted.

"You'll have to get your own,” Rick demanded.

"It _is_ mine!" Tomas snapped, "I still got personal artifacts in there, that's about as mine as it gets!"

The prisoner swiftly yanked his gun back out and pointed it at Rick, Daryl's arrow and Kei's sword pointing at his head without hesitation. T-Dog's pistol backed them up and aimed at the other prisoners. Rick only stared at Tomas and Andrew, Axel jumped forward between them.

"Woah, whoah, woah! Maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins!" He reasoned fearfully. Rick and Tomas kept their eyes locked on each other, neither of them moving.

"I don't see that happening," Tomas stated, staring daggers at Rick.

"Neither do I," Rick agreed, his hand latched to the handle of the gun in his holster.

The two alpha-like leaders kept their eyes dead set on each other, waiting for the other one to make the first move so they could rip each other apart.

"I ain't goin back in that cafeteria for one more minute," Tomas hissed.

"There _are_ other cell blocks," Axel vouched.

"You could leave,” Daryl’s rough voice butted in, "Try your luck out on the road."

Tomas looked to the hunter before looking to Rick. His lips pursed inward, clearly torn about what descision to make. Kei watched as he swallowed his pride momentarily and looked back to his group of inmates.

"If these four pussies can do all this, the least we can do is take out another cell block..."

"With what?" Big Tiny asked. Tomas looked over at Rick expectantly,

"Atlanta here will spot us some _real_ weapons," He answered simply, "Won’tcha, boss?"

Rick paused for a moment, his eyes looking to the pavement as tried to analyze the situation and formulate some sort of plan.

"...How stocked is that cafeteria?" Kei asked out suddenly, earning a look from all of the men. Rick glanced into Kei's big dark eyes and they momentarily met with his. He immediately caught on with what she was suggesting and he looked back over to Tomas.

"Must have plenty of food," The leader added on, "Five guys lastin’ almost a year?"

"Sure as hell don't look anybody's been starvin'," Daryl chimed in, his eyes pointing towards Big Tiny. Tomas exchanged glances with him before looking back at Rick,

"There's only a little left," He answered simply with a shrug.

"Well we'll take half," Rick offered, "In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left!" Andrew snapped. Rick didn't back down, he merely looked to the ground and stepped forward.

"Bet you got more food than you got choices," He reasoned, looking back up to the group of inmates, "You pay, we'll play. We'll clear a block out for you, then you keep to it."

Tomas remained silent for a moment before taking a small breath and nodding.

"...Alright," The inmate answered in agreement. And with that Rick stepped forward, his presence intimidating and his eyes dark and menacing.

"But let's be clear," He hissed harshly, "If we see you out here, anywhere _near_ our people, if I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent, _I will kill you_."

The two leaders kept their stare before Tomas smiled, unphased by Rick's threats. His eyes merely scanned him up and down before smirking in confidence.

"Deal."

 

The prisoners led the four group members back to the cafeteria, weaving through the dark hallways once again. Kei stayed close to Daryl and Rick, still trying to avoid their small glances at her here and there. She was still in some form of after shock, everything throwing her off since Big Tiny had recognized her and Tomas had openly brought up her history. Seeing those hard black eyes staring right through her like that, God. She had worked so hard to keep her defenses high and pretty much remain a sealed book to strangers. Seeing how Tomas just broke past that, and managed to drag some of her skeletons out in the open for Rick and Daryl and T-Dog to see...It made her panic...

"The pantry's back here," She heard Tomas announce, his voice snapping her out of her thoughts. She watched as the men started to pool inside one by one. Kei chewed on her lip and looked to the floor as she stepped forward, stopping when she felt a hand press up against her shoulder. 

"Hey," She heard a rough voice mutter. She looked up and saw Daryl staring firmly at her, his look making her feel small again. Her body tensed up, as if expecting to get hit in some way shape or form. She waited for it, waited for him to say something about earlier, anything. Whether it was in denial like, "They're full of shit,"- or whether it was truthful, something like, "I fuckin' knew we couldn't trust ya. All along."

Instead his jaw just bobbed a little, his eyes fluttering to the floor before his hand went from her shoulder to her wrist, gripping it gently.

"Stay close to me,"

The man turned and gently tugged the confused girl along. She stayed close to him as they entered the room and followed him towards the pantry. She looked around at the massive heap of trash bags in the corner, and all the blankets and pillows littered across the cafeteria floor.

"You never tried to break outta here?" T-Dog asked.

"Yeah we tried to take the doors off," Oscar explained to him, "But if you make one peep in here, then those freaks would be lined up at the door growlin', tryin to get in. Windows got bars on there that He-Man couldn't get through."

Axel meekly looked over to the group, his arms folded,

"Bigger than the five by eight,"

"Don't find me complainin'," Big Tiny assured, "Doin' fifteen, my left leg'll barely fit on one of those bunks."

"They don't call him Big Tiny for nothin," Oscar scoffed. Kei's lips formed a faint smile. Those two didn't seem that bad.

"We done jerkin each other off?" Tomas asked out, leaning against the doorway, "I'm sick of waitin' back here."

The man sighed in annoyance before turning and disappearing behind the corner. Kei exchanged glances with Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog as the other four prisoners headed into the kitchen. Kei watched as the three men gave each other a strange, knowing look that made the girl furrow. She must have missed the memo on that signal. Rick and T-Dog rested their hands on the grip of their guns as they continued to walked over to the pantry in the back room. Kei followed closely behind Daryl, furrowing a little as they walked on. He was hovering over her more than usual.

The four walked in and stared at the large pantry as if it were Christmas, their birthday, and the second coming of Christ all rolled into one. Tomas watched them walk in with caution, the man standing casually about the large stash of food. Daryl brushed past him and turned on his flashlight, staring at the stacks upon stacks of food around him; Cans, bags, bottles, and jugs full of stuff from corn and lard, to tuna fish, bread crumbs, and rice. It was a total gold mine. Kei's stomach was growling from just looking at it.

"This what you call _'a little bit of food'_?" Daryl asked, ending his sentence in a sarcastic tone.

"Goes fast," Tomas sassed.

"Mhm," Daryl huffed in disbelief. He walked up to the Latino inmate and brushed past him, their shoulders knocking against each other in the process. Tomas turned and looked to the shelves, pointing around with one hand.

"You can have a uh… bag of corn, some tuna fish,"

"I said half,” Rick interrupted firmly, “That's the deal."

The leader's persistency was clearly annoying Tomas by the expression on his face. Kei had caught it, and it made her glare at him. Rick turned around and faced the giant metal door that was behind him.

"What's in there?"

"Don't open that—" Oscar warned.

Too late. Rick opened the meat freezer, suddenly jerking back and doubling over. The smell of almost a years worth of feces and urine inside wafted through the air and Kei let out a gag. Rick and T-Dog covered their noses, coughing and dry gagging in disgust. Kei returned her attention to the prisoners, watching as all of them continued to laugh at Rick's ignorance.

"He wanted to know," Tomas snickered out to his fellow inmates. Rick slammed the door shut and leaned against it. The loud thrum of the door echoed away with the laughs as it died down in awkward silence. Axel folded his arms and held himself as he looked to the floor.

"Can't wait for my own pot to piss in,"

Rick let out one more cough before composing himself and focusing back onto the task at hand. He looked over to Daryl and saw that he was already at work observing all the food and condiments on the shelves.

"Let's get started," He announced. 


	23. Sick pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know," He admitted lowly, "I think at this point, I'm just one big ugly scar."
> 
> The dark haired girl could feel his shame radiating off him, hanging over him like a dark cloud. She reached over and took his hand in hers,
> 
> "Hey," She soothed, leaning over in attempts to make eye contact, "It's okay, I am too."

Rick and the others proceeded to take their share of food back to the cell block. Everyone would grab what they could and take it back bit by bit. Oscar, Axel, Andrew, and Big Tiny stood aside in the cafeteria and watched as they came in and out of the pantry like worker ants. Kei walked back into the cafeteria and watched briefly as Daryl walked past her with two sacks of corn in his arms. Their eyes met momentarily and she furrowed. The hunter’s expression, it was dark and troubling. His eyes met hers and he squinted at her. Without uttering a single word, he was warning her to be careful. She looked past him and could see Tomas leaning against the giant metal door to their makeshift bathroom up ahead. She took a small breath through her nose and headed back into the pantry, brushing past the inmate and ignoring him completely. She grabbed a cardboard box and went on her knees, gathering various cans from the bottom shelves.

“Hey,” Tomas spoke out, trying to catch Kei’s attention. The girl said nothing. She continued to stack up cans of tuna and green beans. Tomas let out a sharp whistle.

“Hey! Demon Girl!” He called sharply, smirking as she turned her head to look at him before looking away.

“How about we sweeten the deal a little, huh?” He offered lowly, “Between you and me…”

Her eyes widened slightly and she let the can she was holding fall into the box. She looked upward and rolled her eyes, mentally begging God for patience. She already knew where this was going.

“C’mon,” The black haired prisoner urged, pushing himself off the door, “We been locked up in here for 10 months, just us dudes. Then suddenly this beautiful Asian girl walks in here, flauntin’ ‘round in those tight ass jeans, think about how hard it is for me...”

She felt a couple fingers wrap themselves around a few strands of hair on the back of her head. The image of her foster brother doing the same thing to her as a kid flashed across her mind.

“Remove your hand,” She warned through her teeth. She could practically feel Tomas’ smug little grin as he played with the strands between his fingers.

“Or what?” He challenged, “ _You gonna burn me alive too?_ ”

The image of flames and a body writhing around in bed screaming bloody murder caused her dark eyes to widen. She turned around sharply, shooting up straight and pulling out her gun from her side in unison. She pressed the barrel into his throat, the inmate stumbling backwards in panic. Kei kept the end of her gun latched to his throat as his back pressed up against the door. His eyes widened, shocked by her sudden move and the manic expression on her face,

“I figured you’d be smarter, since you know me so well,” She hissed, pressing the tip of her gun further into his throat, “You of all people should know that you don’t mess with someone who’s fucking crazy.”

Tomas didn’t respond. He merely watched as her expression went from manic to animal-like within seconds. She got up in his face this time, her voice cold and menacing.

“Rick said that if he caught you near us after this that he’ll kill you,” She replied coldly, “That’s being too kind. You come near me, or my people, and I’ll fucking make you wish that he’d do you a favor and kill you quick. I will drag you by your fucking ponytail to a little corner and make you experience the horror that you inflicted on so many innocent lives.”

Tomas’s dark eyes flickered momentarily, his eyelids squinting only slightly as she nodded.

“Gotta love how fast things fly through a prison," She mocked with a sick smirk,  "Especially when one man slaughters an innocent teenager and his entire family in their home."

Tomas didn’t say another word. He kept his eyes locked on her the entire time. The faint smirk never leaving his face as she pulled the gun away and put it back into her side. His eyes wandered over her as she grabbed the box of cans and proceeded to walk out before stopping in front of him.

“Stay the fuck away from me and my people,” She warned harshly.

And with that, she rushed out and made her way back towards the cell block.

 

"Alright, let's see what you have,"

The prisoners threw their weapons on the table, all except Tomas, who had his gun. They looked at each other and then to Kei as she threw some of their own melee weapons on the table, minus her Katana and Wakisashi. Tomas grabbed a crowbar and studied its features, his black eyes glancing to Rick,

"Why do I need this…," He replied while holding up the crowbar with one hand, "...When I have this?"

He pulled the small black revolver from his waistband and held it up for Rick and Daryl to see.

"Ya don't fire guns," Daryl warned, "Not unless yer back’s up against the wall. The noise attracts ‘em… really riles ‘em up…"

The hunter glanced across the table as Rick went on, stealing a couple glances of Tomas as he stared over at Kei. The prisoner's dark eyes were wandering her frame, a small smirk forming on his lips. The hunter gritted his teeth silently as his jaw muscles tensed. He looked over at Kei, seeing her lips curl and her fists clench against the table. She did everything she could to keep her eyes away from Tomas’s blatant stare. The bridge of her nose crinkled slightly, and that made the hunter smirk. She was only one word, one wrong move away from turning around and clawing at his face. She was wild, and he liked that about her. He could tell that she wanted to do it, and to be frank, he wouldn’t try to stop her if she did. He didn't trust them as far as he could spit, and neither did Kei. She knew prisoners better than he did, and she knew the things they were capable of if they really put their minds to it. Hell, everyone knew that. If it all went south, they could easily try to overpower them. They could steal their weapons, kill off the wolves and the men, and then take all the women for themselves. They would take Kei (not without a nasty fight, of course) and do whatever the hell they wanted with her.

Daryl’s lips curled at the thought. He would die protecting his own from a fate like that.

He would die protecting Kei from a fate like that.

"We'll go in threes," Rick announced suddenly, "Daryl will run point with T and Kei… and I'll bring up the rear with you."

The leader pointed his machete over to Tomas and Andrew,

"Stay tight and hold formation," He instructed firmly, "No matter how close the Walkers get, anyone breaks rank, we'll all go down. Anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a Walker, end up with an axe to the head."

"And that's where you aim," Daryl's raspy voice added in, "These things only go down with a headshot."

Tomas only smirked with a scoff while looking at the rest of the prisoners.

"Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man,"

"They ain't men," T-Dog assured as he walked up and stared at them. His tired eyes were clearly haunted by past experiences with walkers. He let out a small sigh through his nose, "They're somethin' else."

Tomas narrowed his eyes at him, immediately looking towards Rick as he walked forward,

"Just remember," He repeated firmly, "To go for the brain."

 

The prisoners took their weapons and watched as Daryl walked around Rick to enter the dark and eery halls of the tombs first. Kei felt the hunter’s rough hand grip hers softly and pull her along with him. T-Dog followed up behind her and the three took their proper positions as they entered the darkness.

Daryl glanced back at her as he clicked on his flashlight, his look asking her if she was ready. Kei gave him a small nod and clicked on her flashlight, trying to keep a level head as they entered the tombs. She pulled her wakisashi from her waistband and gripped it tightly, following Daryl through the hallways, watching his every move, doing whatever he did. She stayed close to him and felt the rest of the group pull up behind her, their breathing heavy and ragged with anticipation and adrenaline as they stalked along.

"Man its too damn dark in here," Oscar complained, not bothering to keep quiet. The hunter looked back at him before looking at his axe.

"Hold it up high, right in front of ya," He instructed, "You'll hear ‘em before you see ‘em."

Daryl looked forward once more as the sound of gurgling and hissing began to echo and bounce off the walls. Kei took a deep breath and pulled her flashlight down, staring ahead intently as the shadow of a Walker stumbled across the damp concrete walls,

"It's comin!" Axel shouted suddenly, making everyone jump. Rick and Daryl shushed him sharply. Only a pair of inmate Walkers staggered around the corner. Kei’s heart let out a small sigh of relief. Two wasn’t so bad. She watched as their heads and bodies turned towards them, facing the flashlights head on. Their milky eyes widened and mouths opened, their bodies seeming to perk up more as they let out a vicious snarl. The pair of creatures staggered forward and started making their way towards them. It was a slow and steady pace, slow enough for Daryl to lift his hand for the prisoners and give them a countdown so they could practice. Kei watched intently as his fingers slowly uncurled and gave off a signal.

“ _One…Two…Th—_ ”

Suddenly with loud savage shouts, the prisoners ran forward and charged at the Walkers. Daryl reached over and took Kei's arm, pulling him against her in order to avoid the stampede of prisoners. He held her close with one arm and held his crossbow out with the other. The group watched as the five men fearlessly fought the walkers head on and started beating on them with their weapons. They thrashed the Walkers about, Big Tiny holding one by the arms while Axel switched from his metal pipe to his makeshift shiv and started shanking the thing in the lungs. Tomas, Oscar, and Andrew knocked the other one to the ground and started beating the shit out of it with their bats, crowbars, and the blunt end of an Axe. They hollered and cheered and yelled as they continued their pointless assault, hitting every spot with dead accuracy except for the head, which was the only spot that truly mattered.

Kei winced at the mashed up Walker’s and looked over at Rick. They exchanged glances with T-Dog and Daryl, all of them in disbelief at what they were watching. After a couple minutes or so, the growling from the dead and the shouts from the living finally ceased. The prisoners huffed and panted as they stared down at the Walkers they had just mutilated, their hands, clothes, and faces bloody. They stared back over at Kei and the others,

"How's that, huh Cowboy?" Tomas huffed with a smug smile. Rick pursed his lips and glanced at the Walkers, then back to Tomas,

"Next time, cut to the chase and do the headshot like we said," He bit, "It's a hell of a lot quicker and quieter than that prison shit you just pulled."

Tomas eyed the man up and down before shaking his head and scoffing,

"Whatever,"

Rick eyed the long faced prisoner before looking to Daryl, nodding for him to get in front and take point again. Kei followed the hunter closely while Rick and T-Dog stayed in back, Daryl motioning for everyone to follow him. They rounded another corner and found themselves in a more open room, allowing them to spread out more. Daryl quickly rose his crossbow at the sound snarling coming from around the corner. Rick’s flashlight pointed forward, beaming down a stray Inmate Walker staggering forward.

"S’gotta be the _brain_ ," Daryl pressed, "Not the stomach, not the heart. _The brain._ "

He pulled the trigger of his weapon and an arrow flung straight into the skull of the Walker. Letting out a grunt, it jerked back and fell to the ground with a thud, attracting more as they came staggering through the open door. Daryl turned his head and nodded for Kei to go for it, another Walker staggering in after it’s fallen companion. The girl gripped her sword tight and lunged forward, striking like a viper into the Walker’s skull with her sword. She yanked her blade back out and quickly retreated into the group as more began to flood in.

“I hear ya,” Axel spoke out, nodding at Daryl and Kei’s example, “The brain!”

Oscar lunged out, slamming his axe down into the head of an undead inmate. He quickly staggered back, turning his head to look at Daryl.

“Like that?”

Daryl gave the guy a firm nod before sliding out his own hunting knife. Axel followed behind Oscar, shoving the edge of his pipe into the putrid, moldy face of another Walker. Rick walked forward and shoved his machete through the face of an undead guard, quickly stepping back into the group,

"Stay in tight formation, no more prison riot shit," He stated firmly.

More and more of the undead came staggering in from around the corner. Kei jumped forward along with the other prisoners, thrusting her knife down into the heads of the corpses. The sounds of grunting and snarling and cracking bones filled the air, the noise seeming to fuel everyone’s adrenaline even more. As Walkers came in, they seemed to fall right where they stood. The group acted as a machine, one part helping one another, functioning like one effective walker-killing weapon.

The creatures were getting killed faster than they were flooding in, and just as Kei sliced the head off the last one, she practically jumped out of her skin when the sound of three gunshots cracked through her ears. Her eardrums buzzed and her heart practically stopped and went up into her throat. She turned around sharply, just about ready to yell and swear when she saw everyone staring over at Big Tiny.

The large man was slightly hunched over, blood cascading down his thick arm from his shoulder. He stared down at the blood on his fingers, looking over to Rick with wide eyes. The leader clicked on his flashlight and went behind the man to look at the damage, staring back over at Andrew, who examined the wound as well.

"I'm tellin' you… I don't feel anything, it's just a scratch!" The large man assured.

"I'm sorry man…" Rick muttered, bowing his head and looking at the ground.

"I can keep fightin!" Big Tiny exclaimed.

"You cut that old guy's leg off to save his life," Andrew remarked.

"Look at where the bite is," Rick argued. Big Tiny rolled his eyes,

"Guys! I'm fine! Just!—" He paused and took a deep breath, looking to Rick, his eyes pleading for him to understand, "I'm fine… look—look at me. I'm not changin’ into one of those things."

"Look man, there has to be something we can do," Oscar spoke out, "Maybe we just lock him up?"

"Quarantine him?" Axel suggested.

"We gotta do somethin!" Andrew yelled, "Why you just standin there?! We gotta save him!"

Rick only shook his head.

"There's nothin we can do…" He replied honestly. Andrew's eyes widened, his grip on the bat tightening as he shook his head in disbelief.

"You son of a bitch..."

Big Tiny opened his mouth once more in attempts to get Rick to understand.

"I'm alri—"

Kei let out a yelp as Tomas suddenly came up and smacked Big Tiny over the head with his crowbar. The large prisoner dropped to the ground with a loud thud and Tomas hovered over his body, slamming the crowbar into his head over and over. One blow after another, blood splattered everywhere. The sound of metal crushing and scraping brain matter, skin, and bone rang in the air.

Kei covered her mouth and turned away. She pressed her head against Daryl's chest and he looked down, putting an arm over her protectively. He stared over at Tomas as he lifted himself up, blood staining his clothes and face as he huffed in exhaustion. Everyone stared over at Tomas with silent disbelief. He stepped off of Big Tiny’s body and turned, walking down the cleared hallway without a word.

Rick slowly walked after Tomas with T-Dog in tow, the prisoners staring at each other before following after them. Daryl and Kei followed suit, the hunter looking down at her as they stepped along,

"You alright?" He asked quietly, watching as the girl gave him a timid nod.

"I'm fine… it's just… I…" She took a deep, shaky breath, "The way he just killed him...the look he had on his face.”

He couldn't tell with it being so dark and all, but if the hunter didn't know any better, he could've sworn that he saw tears forming in her eyes. He knew it was for something deeper than the man that just got slaughtered in cold blood only moments ago.

"I had to do the same thing to my own family," She muttered, "But I did it with my humanity in tact. I treated their corpses with respect."

Daryl watched as her sad expression melted into one of anger and a newfound hatred.

"We can't trust these people," She muttered to him, looking ahead towards Tomas's bloodied tank top, "He's an animal..."

Daryl turned to look ahead at Tomas as well. He remembered that look in the prisoner's eyes back at their cellblock. The way his dark eyes roamed over her, a slew of sick fantasies clear on his face. It caused the anger within him to spike at the pit of his stomach.

"...I want you to stay close to me," He rasped quietly.

Kei turned and looked at him, his stormy eyes dead set on the back of Tomas's head.

"I see the way he looks at ya," He muttered, turning his head slightly to look at her, "I ain’t gonna let him touch ya."

If they weren't in a dark and musty hallway with walkers running around, she would've grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him right now. Seeing the determined look on his face, the way he was being so protective and loyal, it touched her. It really did.

The two noticed Rick had fallen back with them and he looked over at Kei, still keeping a watchful eye on Tomas,

"You alright?” He asked, “You looked pretty upset back there."

"I'm fine," She assured quietly. Kei looked forward to warily watch the prisoners in front of her. She walked a foot or so ahead, letting Rick and Daryl whisper among themselves,

"You see the look on his face?" She heard Daryl ask behind her.

"He makes one move," Rick warned.

"Just gimme a signal," Daryl muttered.

"Keep a close eye on him," Rick whispered, "...especially with her."

Rick’s glance guided Daryl’s eyes to Kei and then back over to Tomas.

"No need to tell me twice…" The hunter huffed.

 

They stopped briefly while T-Dog went ahead and opened up another door. The group flooded into a brightly lit room and looked around. It looked like the laundry room. Piles of sheets and clothes were strewn everywhere. Two large metal shelves stood in the center, completely filled with towels and tubs of powdered bleaches and detergents. Washers and dryers stood side by side each other, a few of their doors still left open. They stared around warily, making sure no Walkers were occupying the place. It looked completely empty, to their surprise.

Rick pointed his machete over to a pair of double set doors that stood on the other side of the room. The group slowly made their way over and stood in front, listening to the muffled growls and snarls that went off from behind the doors.

Rick walked forward and stopped just a few feet away from Tomas. Daryl and Kei walked in behind him, the hunter pulling the keys from his pocket and tossing them. They landed on the floor and slid across, stopping at Tomas’s feet,

"I ain't openin that," The inmate stated firmly.

"Yes you are," Rick demanded, "Because you want this cell block. You're gonna open that door, just the one, not both of them, because we need to control this."

Tomas huffed and picked the jingling keys up from the ground. He turned and stared over at Andrew for a minute before going back to the door. He shoved the keys into the lock and jiggled it before it unlocked with a _click_ , everyone holding their weapons tight as the snarling and groaning grew louder behind the doors.

"You bitches ready?" Tomas asked as he turned to look back at his group for. He quickly returned his attention to the doors, yanking the door handles, but it wouldn't budge. Kei swallowed hard and resheathed her short sword, watching as he regripped the handles and yanked at them a second time. Once again, they didn’t budge.

"I got this,” Tomas assured, turning and giving everyone a look before looking back at the double doors. With one last hard pull, the two white doors exploded open, and a slew of Walkers came pooling out.

"I said one door!" Rick yelled out.

"Shit happens!" Tomas spat.

The Walkers began to flood in and lunge at everyone. The group broke rank as the creatures began to fan out and occupy every space they could, practically overwhelming them. If any one of them went down, god forbid, they surely would be.

Kei swiftly yanked out her katana. Breathing sharply, mentally trying to steady her heartbeat, she lunged forward and began her attack. She gripped her weapon tight and attempted to swing in short, rapid movements— maneuvering around as best as she could, carefully watching the prisoners around her as they swung their weapons, and trying to pay attention to the Walkers at the same time. Slashing left and right, upward angles and downward angles, Walkers began to drop to the ground. A gurgled groan sounded from behind the girl and she turned around sharply, slicing off the top half of a Prison guard walker's head.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tomas thrashing around more than usual. She turned and saw him grab hold of a Walker and shove it right into Rick. The Walker’s body smacked right into her Leader and he fell to the floor, his machete leaving his hand and falling to some unknown spot. Rick struggled to keep the Walker from biting at him, the creature gnashing its grimey rotted teeth at him. Kei's eyes widened and she called out his name. She lunged forward to try and take it out, but a Walker grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned just as its teeth aimed for her skin and used her free hand to plunge her knife into its skull. She yanked the blade out from its soft, rotted flesh and wrenched her arm away as it crumpled to the floor. She staggered back a little and looked around, seeing no other Walkers around attempting to kill them.

Kei turned and looked over as Rick recovered his weapon and stepped up to Tomas. Even though the fight was over, the tension was as high as it ever was. Rick stared over at the prisoner with surprising neutrality. Kei was in awe. She saw what the guy did to him. If it were her, she would’ve sworn and spat and clawed his face off by now. Tomas just shook his head and held his arms out with a shrug,

"It was comin’ at me bro," He said simply.

"Yeah…yeah I get it," The leader rasped with a scoff, "I get it…shit happens."

Rick's blue eyes stared into Tomas' black ones, the long pause between them and the stale air making everyone on edge. Kei watched as Rick’s lips barely even twitched and his eyes barely falter. He looked oddly calm, while Tomas looked the exact opposite, with wide hysteric eyes and ragged breathing and trembling lips. His eyes jutted from side to side, searching Rick, waiting for him to say something, react with anything other than his play on words. Rick just stood there though, his face blank and his eyes cold.

Kei opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when without warning and a second thought, Rick drew back and shoved his machete down into Tomas' head with unrelenting force.

"NO!!" Andrew cried out, everyone flinching at the sudden sound of metal cracking against bone. Tomas froze up instantly and went limp. Rick kicked him in the chest with his foot and lifted his sword up off his head in unison. Tomas's body fell to the floor with a thud and a hysteric Andrew lunged forward with his bat. Rick had caught on quickly and kicked the man down before he could swing it at him. Andrew stumbled over the pile of walkers and looked up with wild eyes.

"Easy now!" Daryl rasped, aiming his crossbow right at the hysteric inmate. Andrew didn't pay attention, instead he scrambled to his feet and bolted down into the darkness. Rick started off after him.

"I got him!" He called out, running into the dark after the prisoner. Kei gripped her sword and bolted forward, running into the dark after the leader.

"Kei!!" T-Dog yelled.

"Kei get back here!!" Daryl barked out.

"He needs backup!" She yelled back, ignoring Daryl’s calls as she continued down the corridor.

Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. She could see Rick turning corners up ahead, the light from his flashlight darting around every which way. He was only a couple feet or so away from Andrew, who was darting around like a mad man, desperate to get away from the killer of his leader. She saw Rick disappear behind another corner up ahead when light suddenly pooled through the other hall. She rushed forward towards the light and followed its source. She turned two more corners before she made it to the bottom of a set of stairs. At the very top, she saw Rick standing in front a barred door, Andrew standing outside of it in the courtyard. The sounds of moaning and hungry growls echoed through the hallway, the source clearly outside with the frightened prisoner. Andrew’s arms slipped through the bars and he wildly tried to reach for Rick.

"Let me back in, man!" She heard him cry, "Let me back in! Open the door! Please! Open it up!"

Rick didn't budge. He didn't swing open the door and let him run in. Instead he continued to hold the door firmly, and said something that caused Kei's eyes to widen.

_"You better run,"_

She watched as Rick stepped back and shut the second door, darkness briefly engulfing the two of them completely. Andrew's muffled cries and yells in agony sounded throughout the hall, overpowering the loud thumping in Kei's chest. She stepped forward and watched Rick pace around a little. Her eyes adjusted to the little amount of light streaming through the barred window beside them. The ample amount of daylight had cast itself on his bloodied face, making the blue in his irises pop out. His bright eyes darted over to her dark ones and stayed locked on them as Andrew's cries slowly faded out. They eventually ceased, and Kei continued to stare at him, legitimately unsure of what her next move should be. He looked dangerous in this moment, his manic expression eerily similar to Shane's. He was losing himself. Whoever this Rick was, it was different from the Rick she knew 9 months ago.

And then suddenly, his dangerous vibe left, as if it evaporated into thin air. His eyes darted to the floor and he let his head drop, taking a deep breath through his nose. Kei stepped forward slowly and reached a hand out to him.

"R..." She couldn't bring herself to finish his name. He looked up at her, but not right at her like he normally would. Instead he looked through her, like she wasn't there. He walked forward and brushed past her, making his way back down the hall and back towards Daryl and T-Dog.

* * *

 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=65811013) sat outside in the warm evening air, letting out a shaky sigh. Today was quite a day. Not long after the incident in the laundry room, the Cellblock had been cleared out for Oscar and Axel to live in. Rick made it clear that if they violated him and Tomas’s previous agreement and tried to get on their side, they would meet the same ugly fate as Tomas and Andrew. It was after that Hershel had woken up from his brief coma. Lori had managed to save his life and resuscitate him after he stopped breathing. Carl helped as well. If he hadn’t found the infirmary when he did, who knows where they would be. Good fortune was on their side today. She had food, everyone was safe, and they had a place that they could call home once more.

Still she had an uneasy feeling about it. Just the look on Rick’s face when he locked Andrew out…

She opened up her box of Marlboros and put an unlit cigarette between her lips. She felt around the pockets of her dress for her matches, but they were empty. She searched around where she was sitting. No box.

“Ya lookin’ for these?” She heard a male ask out from behind her. She turned around, looking through her sunglasses at Daryl walking up with a small paper box in his hand.

“Needed ‘em to build a fire,” He mentioned, tossing her the small box of matches. He took a seat down next to her and watched as she smirked and lit a match. She pressed the flame to the end of her cigarette and took a long drag, the cherry at the end of the white stick glowing bright. She shook the match’s flame out and tossed it aside, letting out a smoke-filled sigh through her nostrils with her cigarette still between her lips. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and handed it over to him. The corner of his mouth turned upwards as he reached over and took it from her hands, putting it to his lips and taking a small hit. She lit herself another one and the two just sat there, watching the sun as it slowly began to set.

"So, what you doin out here?" He asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Kei put her cigarette to her lips with a growing smirk and looked at him, taking a small puff.

"I have to have a reason?" She asked, her tone playful as she let out a slow and smoky exhale. Daryl shrugged his shoulders with a crooked smile and looked out towards the courtyard.

"Figured you had one," He answered honestly, "Can't just be sittin' out here doin nothin. That ain't you."

"Oh, and you know," She scoffed, "What exactly _is_ me, Mr. Dixon? Enlighten me."

"Runnin' around, bein' a pain in the ass," He answered, the smile growing on his face as her mouth dropped a little with a smile. She leaned over and jokingly punched his arm, 

"Fuck you," She laughed, curling in as Daryl nudged her back with his shoulder. She punched his arm once more and tried nudging him away, but he just laughed and leaned into her further, his weight making her almost topple over. She put her hands out and tried pushing him back, but he just kept leaning into her,

"Daryl! Stop it!" She giggled.

"What?! I'm just sittin'," He excused, laughing as she put all her body wieght into moving him.

"You're such an asshole, sit _up_!" She laughed, pushing him and forcing him to sit back up straight. He suddenly caved and shot up straight, making her keel over and bump her head onto his shoulder. She punched his arm with one hand and rubbed the side of her head with the other, the two of them laughing lightly before quieting down again. They stared back out at the empty courtyard, cigarettes at hand, and a pile of thoughts on their minds. Kei put her cigarette to her lips and took a long drag before letting out another smoky exhale. She stared out in the trees and Daryl looked over at her, chewing on his lip and then glancing down at the ground. He looked out into the courtyard towards a watch tower, taking a small hit from his cigarette before letting it out in a smoky cloud,

"Somethin's been eatin at me," He confessed. Kei looked at him, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

"What?"

"What...Tomas said when we took ;em all outside," He explained, "‘bout you gettin’ put in here for stabbin’ a bunch’a people, and burnin’ one a’ya family alive..."

Daryl looked over at her and watched as her big dark eyes looked at the ground. She stubbed out her cigarette on the metal seat beside her. She turned, exposing her shoulder blade to him. She dug her fingers into the strap of her bra and pulled it aside, revealing the head of a menacing black dragon etched on her dirty skin. His eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at the piece of art. Now that he got a good look at it up close, he could see an uneven and gnarled mark running along the dragon's neck; a scar buried underneath the black ink.

“I tried to kill my foster father,” She admitted quietly, her eyes falling to her shoes, “My foster brother too. Burned him alive, got about...80 percent of him.”

"…What’d they do?" He asked, his raspy voice just barely above a whisper. The girl turned back around and sighed, staring at the concrete as Daryl shifted to try and make eye contact with her. He watched as Kei's lips twisted to the side in breif hesitation before she turned her head, locking eyes with him.

"He was raping my older foster sister and me,” She explained, looking away immediately after, “His son saw his dad having fun and decided that he wanted in, so he did it to me as well….”

She paused, looking down at the concrete before looking back out at the courtyard.

"I lost it after that,” She confessed, turning her attention back to Daryl, “One night when my foster Dad was out, I took the gas can from the garage and…I set my brother on fire, while he was sleeping.”

She remembered it clear as day. She remembered the stench of gas, the moment when she dropped the gas can and let it hit the ground with a loud CLANG! She remembered her foster brother waking up abruptly at the sound, his eyes heavy with sleep.  She remembered her little fingers flicking on the lighter, and tossing it onto the soaked carpet, watching as the fire ignited and flames spread across rapidly.

"The cops didn't do nothin?" Daryl asked.

"I was going to be taken away that afternoon, but first I was forced to visit him in the hospital," She explained, "After that, my dad dragged me back to the house and started beating me. I fought back, stabbing him in the neck with a pencil."

She turned her head and looked at her shoulder.

"He grabbed the kitchen knife and did this to me in retaliation,” She went on to say, “The police came, they took my foster sister and me away, and...I never saw her again after that.”

The hunter's stormy eyes wandered over the girl as his jaw impulsively bobbed up and down. He watched as Kei shifted and searched for a distraction in silent shame. She kicked the pebbles on the ground, picked at the loose strands on the hem of her dress, even ran her hands through her hair. Still, he waited for her to continue, his face neutral and his thoughts reeling as the girl bit her lip and looked down at the ground again.

“I became a ward of the state after that, and when I was thirteen, my guardian tried to bribe me with good reports in exchange for sex," She admitted, "I stabbed him with a letter opener and got sent to a Women's Correctional up until I was 16. During that time I...hurt people who hurt me, set a fire in the janitor's closet, and broke out. Eventually I got caught, and I was sent here until I was 19..."

" _And there you have it,"_ She thought to herself, _"...Well, part of it."_ There were still a few things she left out, details she felt were better left untold right now. What she had told him was a lot to take in, and plenty enough to make him or the others not trust her anymore. Her dark eyes darted over to the hunter's stormy blues, the two of them just staring for a minute. Kei tried to read him, his facial expression. She waited, waited for him to slide away, to get up and leave and warn the others that she was just as psycho as Tomas and the others were. 

He didn't though. He just sat there. He sat and he stayed with her.

Daryl looked down, not expecting such a story like that to come from her. He had been through his own share of hell during his childhood, dealing with neglect and abuse, but nothing like that. To think that this young girl went through all that, with one sick pervert after another, it made his teeth clench. His jaw tightened as anger began to boil in his veins and burn under his skin. If only he had been there when she was little. He would've done everything he could to keep her safe.

His head turned when he felt a cool hand sliding across his shoulders, Kei's slender fingers gently placing themselves on the back of his neck. 

"Hey," She murmured to him, "It's okay..."

Daryl only shook his head, taking a slow and much needed breath to keep from freaking out. Her fingers played around his hairline on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes. The feel of her fingers furrowing along his scalp like caterpillars inching forward to find food, it sent a tingling sensation down his spine that brought his muscles to ease up and relax.

"What 'bout ya family," He asked while looking over at her, "The one's ya grew up with, and liked...How'd ya come 'cross them?"

Kei only shrugged her shoulders softly with a smile, glancing back out at the courtyard.

"They had their eyes on me for a while," She explained, "I have no idea why, since I had done things that gave everyone a good reason to stay away. But my adoptive parents, they just smiled and told me that they had faith in me, that I wasn‘t just what they saw on the file sheet...they inspired me to be better, to try and let people in for a change..."

"What 'bout all those things those guys did to ya," Daryl asked, earning a quizzical look from the girl, "I mean, it must've affected ya, left ya with a lot of scars..."

Kei's hand slowly pulled itself off Daryl's shoulder and went back on her lap, much to his silent disappointment,

"It did," She spoke honestly, "But no matter how hard I try to forget them, I know they'll never really go away. Instead I feed off of them. They drive me to fight harder and encourage me to survive longer. There's been a lesson in everything that's happened to me, and the scars are a reminder of those lessons."

"Says you," Daryl scoffed, looking down at his hands, "Don't know what lesson I coulda learned as a kid, other than not to fuck with my dad..."

Kei looked back at him and saw that he avoided eye contact with her.

"Mine’re ugly to me, I hate 'em," He muttered bitterly, "I got so many of  'em..."

The girl watched as a dark memory seemed to flash across the Hunter's pained expression. She could see it as plain as day, whatever happened to him as a kid really messed him up afterwards.

"You know," He admitted lowly, "I think at this point, I'm just one big ugly scar."

The dark haired girl could feel his shame radiating off him, hanging over him like a dark cloud. She reached over and took his hand in hers,

"Hey," She soothed, leaning over in attempts to make eye contact, "It's okay, I am too."

He looked back at her, his stormy blues meeting the big dark pools of her irises. Daryl's lips twitched and he began to chew on the inside of his cheek nervously. He suddenly felt a curtain of hair fall over his shoulder. He turned his head and looked over to see Kei resting her head on his dirty shoulder. Her right hand still linked in his left, her fingers curled over his scarred knuckles. She let out a small and content sigh through her nose.

"Thank you for looking out for me today," She continued on, "You and the others protecting me like that, defending me when Tomas was saying those things. I was really touched."

She looked up at his eyes, his insecurities revealing themselves in the pools of his watery irises as he blinked,

"You being there for me made me feel alot better," She spoke honestly.

She watched as Daryl scoffed and shook his head with a crooked smile, looking away and off into the trees. Kei chuckled lightly to herself and leaned forward, placing her lips on his warm cheek in a soft kiss. Daryl's skin tingled and he looked back at her, the dirt and grime on his cheeks managing to hide the small blush that was surely forming. It was the first time in months that they had any type of intimate contact, even as little as a kiss on the cheek.  She broke away from his cheek and sighed softly. She snuggled in closer, hoping Daryl would relax with her, but it didn't work. She could feel his body tensing under her, and with a vague sense of disappointment she forced herself to straighten up. Daryl didn't move an inch. He stood there frozen in place, looking at her with an expression that was hard for the girl to read. She simply took it as a negative and looked down at her hands.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, letting out a light and awkward chuckle afterwards. She looked back up and saw him looking more uncertain and insecure than ever. His jaw bobbed rapidly as he impulsively chewed on the inside of his lip. She was really starting to feel bad now. Sure, she wasn't blatantly throwing herself at him, but she couldn't help but feel like that was exactly what she was doing.

She started to turn her head away in slight shame when a pair of lips suddenly touched her cheek. The gesture caught her off guard completely, making her eyes widen slightly and her mouth part a little. Daryl broke away quickly, leaning back to allow Kei to turn her head to face him. His face was only several inches from her own, his eyes scanning her own for a response. Instead of speaking, she leaned in and placed a small and very light kiss on his lips. He didn't move, and neither did his lips at first. Her eyes fluttered shut and her free hand reached up, gently placing itself on his whiskery cheek. She felt his face pull away only slightly before leaning back in, parting his lips and returning the kiss briefly before pulling his mouth from hers.

He opened his eyes. The desire in them was obvious, and her body reacted instantly. Her stomach began to flood with a good sickly feeling before erupting into butterflies. Her eyes fluttered shut as she placed her hands on each side of his face, gently pulling him in and their lips brushed once again. Their muscles tensed at first, but after the first few moments, they managed to relax and their kisses started to grow deeper. A pile of thoughts raced through Daryl's head before getting mixed up and jumbled together. After a minute or so he didn't know what to think anymore, other than that she had soft lips, and that he liked kissing her. He liked kissing her a lot.

Of course another thought came to mind as she suddenly broke away, and that was a very confused and slightly frustrated " _what the hell?_ "

“Come on,” She breathed, picking up her cigarettes and scooting away to stand up. Daryl watched as the girl smoothed out the crinkles on her dress and started to walk away.

“Wait, wha?” He asked out in genuine confusion. She stopped and turned around, smiling and reaching her hand out to him.

“Come _on_ ,” She repeated, taking his hand and pulling him up off the bench. Daryl stood up and followed along blindly as she lead them to the guard tower. She opened up the steel door and gently pulled him inside, engulfing them in darkness.

“Where we—” His sentence was cut short when nose gently bumped into his cheek and a pair of lips touched his. He felt a pair of calloused palms and slender fingers touch his cheeks as they pulled him further, deepening the kiss.

"Kei," He whispered against her lips, holding her waist in his hands. It was all the encouragement she needed to kiss him again. She gently pressed his head to the side and ran little kisses along his jaw line, feeling the scratchiness of his facial hair against her lips before gently pressing them on his earlobe. He groaned in his throat as she broke the kiss and pulled away, tugging his hand as she lead him through the dark towards the upstairs control room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dunno man, I just like to think that kissing Daryl would be tense and slightly awk at first, ahahaha.  
> Well, I'm feeling LOADS better emotionally today, so I decided to update. woo! woo! I hope you all enjoy it.   
> See you later, darlings! xx


	24. Virginia Slims

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I missed ya, ya know,” He muttered out, leaning in and leaving small kisses along her collarbone and shoulder.
> 
> “I’ve been here the whole night,” She remarked with a light smile.
> 
> “Nah, I mean I missed ya,” He clarified, “All those months you was gone… I missed ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College has started up again for this little loser right here, but I have most chapters typed out already (it's all about dat proof-reading and editing) so it shouldn't get in the way of updating too much. 
> 
> Starting to regret my math class a little though. I hope I can pass it. >.

Kei turned her head to look at the man laying next to her. She watched as Daryl crossed his arms under his head and stared sightlessly at the guard tower ceiling. She turned to her side and faced him, her eyes looking about his body, observing each scar that decorated his side, stomach, and chest. She reached over and gently ran her fingertips over the thickest one that ran under his collar bone.

“I don’t think they’re ugly,” She mentioned quietly, gently following along the rigid line of skin with her fingertips. She watched as he turned his head and looked at her. The expression on his face didn’t seem angry or sad. It was just neutral at first. It was only a minute after that he looked comforted, a faint smile growing across his lips. He turned to his side to face her, running his hand along skin of her arm all the way up to her shoulder. His eyes traveled over her increasingly thin frame, her long legs, and the way her hip bones jutted out against the silky fabric of her underwear. She wasn’t like the girls he was used to seeing with Merle or his dad when he was growing up. They were more full figured, some pretty and some not, all with much bigger chests. Merle and his dad tried to drill it in his brain at first that the women they brought home were what real and satisfying women looked like. However, when the world ended and their dad had died, Merle tried to replace that saying with “Take what ya can get, little brother."

Kei was on the opposite end of Merle and his dad’s women. She was lanky and birdlike; with a small chest and messy black hair. She had somber eyes and an odd, yet vibrant big-toothed smile. She somewhat embodied their living definition of what _not_ to go after.

And yet, despite all that his dad did, and all that Merle had tried to tell him, he couldn’t help but find her really beautiful.

“ _Beautiful?” The memory of his father laughed, “Shiiit son, ain’t no man wit real balls calls a girl that! Women’re only good for cookin’ and fuckin’!”_

“ _But…But she’s pretty,” 8 year old Daryl peeped, curling further into himself by the second, “Ma said—Momma said it was ok to call girls pre—”_

“ _Screw what that ol’bitch said!” The man spat, “She don’ know nothin! And don’chu think a’tellin that nigger girl down the street what’chu just said, Darylina!”_

“ _I won’t!” His little son squeaked, his blue eyes wide like tennis balls as his father leaned down and got in his face._

“ _I‘ll beat that uppity ass a’ yers real good if you do!” He grit, grabbing his son’s bony arm and twisting it._

“ _I WON’T!!” Daryl yelped, his little hands clawing at his father’s thick fingers and rock hard knuckles desperately. His attempts to break free did nothing, only earn him a smack in the face by one large, calloused hand. He felt his father’s oil stained fingers dig themselves into his cheeks and pull his face to look directly at him._

“ _Ain’t nobody gonna like you ever,” The man seethed, looking straight into Daryl‘s teary eyes, “You got somethin’ wrong wit ya, and nobody likes somebody who’s got somethin’ wrong wit ‘em. Ain’t no one gonna care ‘bout you ever. You a freak, son. Ya hear?”_

“Daryl?”

_Eight year old Daryl turned around sharply, looking out with wide eyes and tear stained cheeks._

“Daryl?” Kei asked, her voice ripping the man from his thoughts, “Hey, are you okay?”

The brown haired man blinked a few times, looking up at the ceiling and remembering that he was still in the guard tower. He turned his head and looked at Kei, her big eyes filled with concern. His heart thumped in his chest. He reached out and slid his arm under the back of her neck, curling it around slightly to pull her closer to him.

“How come ya like me so much?” He asked, his eyes looking directly at her own. She stared at him blankly before smiling suddenly, letting out a small chuckle in her throat as she shifted about. She scooted over and pressed half her body against him, throwing one leg over him, her thigh pressing up against his hip. She slid one hand across his chest and up to his left cheek, cupping it lightly so he couldn’t attempt to turn away from her.

“Because I do,” She answered honestly, looking directly at him with a smile, “I mean…what’s not to like about you?”  
  
Daryl opened his mouth to respond, but instead she leaned down, pressing her lips to his. She placed small, warm kisses on his cheeks, his nose, and his forehead, holding his head tightly in her hands.

“You’re brave,” She muttered between kisses, “You’re loyal…strong…a fierce fighter, and a protector…you’re beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” He quoted, his eyes fluttering shut as she gently kissed his eyelid.

“Mhm,” She replied thoughtfully, “In the the way in that…all of your quirks, your mannerisms, your qualities, all of what makes you—well, _you_ , it just turns you into something… I don't know, different. And it makes you beautiful to me.”

She watched as Daryl's lips pressed together and his jaw bobbed up and down. His eyes shyed away from hers as he turned his head, Kei tilting her own at him. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn his cheeks looked a little pinker. The thought alone couldn't help but make her smile. She grinned lightly and leaned over, planting a kiss on his warm cheek. She tilted to the side a little and leaned down further so she could kiss his lips, Daryl still slightly shying away as he pressed his lips to hers. Kei could feel Daryl’s hand beside her try to snake its way under her side. With her lips still attached to his, she shifted her side upwards and let his hand through. He gently pushed her side towards him to get her to move further, her other knee finally touching the floor as she straddled him. His calloused hands placed themselves on her hips as she ran kisses down his throat, and stopping at his collarbone and gently nipping the skin. His eyes fluttered shut and he let out a throaty sigh, running his hands up her sides and along her back. She gripped his broad shoulders and pulled him up, getting him to sit up with her. He slid his hands around her and pulled her against him, kissing her neck and collarbone and shoulders.

Her hands buried deep in the roots of his hair, fingers furrowing along the back of his scalp. She gently gripped a fistful of hair and pushed his head to the side, leaning in and planting a kiss on his neck. She ran her tongue down his throat before tracing it along his collarbone. He groaned louder and thrust his hips against her. She could feel his erection through the fabric of his jeans and she rubbed herself against him eagerly. It sent fire down his spine and he let out a loud gasp at the new sensation. She held him even closer to her body, letting her nails drag over his back leaving red lines and goose bumps in their wake. He arched at the feeling, a low shuddering ' _Ungh_ ,' escaping his lips and his mouth dropping slightly in the process. She quickly recaptured his lips with her own, running her hands over burning skin to grasp his shoulders as she took his bottom lip between her teeth. She gently tugged on his bottom lip, letting it spring back into place. The two of them stifled a small laugh and looked at each other. Daryl's hand gently rubbed her back, feeling the ridges and bumps of her spine. She leaned in with a smile, gently nuzzling her nose with his and leaving little butterfly kisses on his lips.

 

The sky was starting to turn dark blue, a strip of rich orange light shining across the horizon diminishing as the sun set lower and lower. The faint glimmer of stars were starting to show themselves, and the evening air was growing cool.

“Anyone seen Daryl?” Rick asked out. He entered the prison courtyard to meet with T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie. T-Dog and Glenn shook their heads no while Maggie pointed out to the third guard tower nearest to the fence.

“Saw them go up there a couple hours ago,” She announced, “Haven’t seen ‘em since.”

“Well it’s gettin’ dark out,” Rick spoke, “What’re they even doin’ up there for that lo—”

His sentence was cut short when he saw the rusted metal door at the bottom of the tower swing open. Daryl walked out first, looking just as rugged as before. His hair was wild and his clothes were all disheveled. It looked like a crazy wind storm blew through, and he was the only one effected by it. The hunter noticed everyone’s curious and confused glances at him and he stopped in his tracks.

“The hell yall lookin’ at?” He rasped, squinting at each one of them. Glenn and Rick shook their heads in response. The hunter straightened out his flannel shirt with a huff and stalked his way back into the prison. Just as he did so, Kei walked out of the guard tower, looking well kept and completely content. She noticed everyone’s stare as she walked up, and that made her furrow in response.

“What?” She asked. Maggie, T-Dog, and Glenn all shook their heads, the three of them clearly struggling to keep back a chuckle. The five of them started to make their way back into the prison, Rick and Kei lingering a few feet behind.

“Everything alright?” He asked with a faint smirk on his lips, “You and Daryl were up there for some time.”

“Yeah,” She chirped simply, brushing some hair behind her ear, “We were just chatting.”

“Oh, is that what they’re callin’ it nowadays?” Rick asked while raising his eyebrows. The dark haired girl let out a scoff and punched him the arm, earning a small laugh from the leader in response. Rick wrapped his arm around her neck and put her in a headlock, proceeding to rub her head with his knuckles softly and chuckling to himself. Kei let out a swear and grabbed at his hands, yanking off his arm and punching him in the shoulder. The leader let out a laugh as she shoved him away, breaking into a sprint as she chased after him inside.

 

Kei went over to her cell and found Daryl sitting on the bed with Ren laying at his feet. He still wore the same disheveled clothing, but his hair was much tamer this time. He looked up at her and watched as she turned and pulled the makeshift curtain of cable wire and blankets across to give them more privacy. She turned back around and smiled at him.

“Hey,”

“Hey,” He rasped. He paused for a moment. He continued to sit there, unsure and uncharacteristically nervous. The girl tilted her head slightly, furrowing at his unusual behavior.

“You alright?” She asked.

“Yeah,” He answered hesitantly, “I just…wanted to say sorry for…”

“For…?” She asked slowly, watching as his jaw bobbed up and down.

“You know, um,” He scratched the back of his head, leaning forward to mutter his next few words, “ _Gettin’ off that early…_ ”

The memory of him swearing as she touched him flashed across her mind, making her let out a strained snicker through her nose.

“It’s no problem,” She spoke, clearly trying to hold back a giggle. Daryl furrowed at her, his lips shifting to the side a little.

“S’not funny,” He assured, looking to the floor in slight shame as he mumbled, “S’embarassin’ as hell.”

“Well it shouldn’t be,” She stated reassuringly, “It happens to a lot of guys. There’s no need to apologize for it, really. If anything you deserved it.”

She watched as Daryl’s lips twisted to the side and he continued looked down. The corner of her mouth perked upwards as she leaned in, pecking him on the ear lobe.

“Besides,” She whispered in his ear, “Practice makes perfect, right?”

She heard Daryl’s breathing hitch in his throat for a brief second. She let out a giggle and kissed his cheek. She felt the muscles in his cheek tense up, the smile never leaving his face as he shifted to meet her lips with his own. His hands placed themselves on her hips and he pulled her closely to him, opening his mouth and deepening the kiss between them. The familiar feel of her lips on his made him moan and he tightened his grip around her until she gasped.

“Shhhh,” He whispered, breaking the kiss on her lips to pay attention to her jaw line and neck. He kissed his way up to her ear, tracking the curve of it with little kisses before nipping on the lobe. She bit her bottom lip playfully and shifted, placing a single kiss on the base of his neck.

She stepped back with a smile and turned her back to him.

“Wanna help me out of this?” She asked quietly, hinting towards the zipper on the back of her dress. She looked ahead and waited momentarily for Daryl to walk over and help her out. She felt the dress loosen around her as the zipper slowly slid its way down her back. The dress slipped off easily and pooled to the floor with a soft thud. She then felt his lips move down her neck, kissing and nipping gently at the skin. It sent chills down her spine, making her moan lightly and her knees shake. She turned and helped Daryl out of his shirt, leaving little kisses down his neck and chest as she undid each button. She could feel his heart faintly thumping against her lips as she kissed the small tattoo just above his left nipple. He let out a small _ungh_ as she gently nipped the tattooed piece of flesh before massaging it with more kisses.

She looked up at him and leaned in, her lips just barely brushing his, the two exchanging heated pants and sighs as her fingers slid down his abdomen and landed on his belt buckle. She undid his belt and unzipped his jeans, her eyes never leaving his as she let the fabric slide down and pool around his ankles. He leaned in and pecked her lips, sliding his hands down her sides and gently massaging her protruding hip bones. He gripped her hips and stepped out of his jeans, guiding her over to the bed and kissing her with each step they took. She carefully slipped into the bottom bunk, Daryl following afterward. He threw one leg over her hip and hovered over her, placing his arms and knees on either side of her to hold most of his weight. He gently pressed his body against her, his hips pressing down against her own.

She let her fingers slide up and down his sides, feeling each rib and scar along the way. He leaned down and kissed her. It was a slow and tender kiss and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him to her as he placed soft, warm kisses on her cheeks and lips. He used one hand to cradle her head, his fingers burying themselves in her inky black roots.

"Ya know…yer really beautiful," He breathed in her ear, gently kissing her lobe afterward.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She smiled that warm and toothy smile he had grown fond of, and continued to stare at him as he brushed some hair behind her ear. He leaned down and gave her one more kiss before scooting over and laying down next to her.

Fifteen minutes later, Kei was beginning to drift asleep with Daryl's warm body pressed to her side. He turned his head to watch her for a moment. Her small chest rose and fell at a steady pace, her breathing light and steady through her nose. God, she really was beautiful to him. He couldn’t believe he almost lost her like that all those months ago. One minute she was there, and the next they were surrounded by Walkers and she was gone in a flash. Nine whole months without her, and not a single clue if she was still alive or not. She could have died, and all he would’ve had left of her was the memory of her frightened smile and a single desperate kiss.

One minute she was there, and the next she was gone in a flash. Just like…

Kei stirred for a moment before opening her eyes. She shifted and turned, leaning into Daryl’s body and adjusting her head on the pillow. She blinked a few times before rubbing her eyes, looking over at Daryl and his sudden pained expression.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, her voice slightly thick and groggy with sleep. She watched as Daryl shook his head, his jaw bobbing up and down. Concern instantly washed over her and she lifted her head, her dark eyes locked onto his stormy blues.

“Daryl,” She spoke, her tone soft. The hunter put his thumb to his mouth and impulsively chewed on the nail, shaking his head at her once more. She reached over and gently wrapped her hand around his, pulling it away from his mouth and holding onto it tight. She rested her head back onto the pillow and gently kissed his knuckles, looking at him intently as he avoided her gaze for a moment.

“You know my mom...She liked her wine," He muttered out, turning to look at Kei, "She liked to smoke in bed too. Virginia slims…”

Kei nodded lightly, encouraging him to continue as she watched him intently. He turned his head, looking up at the bottom of the bunk.

"One time I was playing out with the kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone," He went on to say, "They all had bikes, I didn’t. We heard sirens gettin' louder. They jumped on their bikes, ran after it, you know, hopin’ to see something worth seein’. I ran after 'em, but I couldn’t keep up."

He turned his head again, looking at her, his face expressionless.

"I ran around the corner and saw my friends lookin’ at me," He recalled, his eyes falling to the mattress, "Hell, I saw everybody lookin’ at me. Firetrucks everywhere, people from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for..."

She scooted closer to him, curling one arm lovingly around his head as he went on. His stormy eyes looked up at her, dull with the haunting memory replaying in his head like a broken movie reel.

"That was my mom in bed," His raspy voice whispered, "Burnt down to nothin’...that's the hard part, you know, she was just gone, erased, nothin' left of her..."

She gently ran her fingers through his hair, listening without a word as he continued to whisper to her.

"Most of the time I took care of my mom," He mentioned, "Turned on her favorite tv show, kept her on her side when she was passed out. She weren’t much of a mom, but she still looked out for me. Took some of my dad’s beatings, fed me when she remembered, cared for me a lot more than my dad or Merle ever did. I felt safe with her..."

Kei watched as his eyes fluttered down towards the mattress before looking back up at her.

"I think...she might've even liked me as a son at one point,"

The girl’s heart thumped against her chest, a lump growing in her throat as Daryl’s hand gently ran up and down along her side.

“I missed ya, ya know,” He muttered out, leaning in and leaving small kisses along her collarbone and shoulder.

“I’ve been here the whole night,” She remarked with a light smile.

“Nah, I mean I missed ya,” He clarified, “All those months you was gone… I missed ya.”

The dark haired girl furrowed and turned around, looking directly at Daryl and his wounded expression. Her heart almost broke. He was being completely honest right now. He looked like he was lost, his jaw bobbing impulsively and his eyes rooted to the mattress.

“I thought I lost ya,” He muttered.

She reached over and gently cupped his cheek, trying to comfort him as best she could.

“Hey,” She spoke quietly, leaning in and giving him a light kiss, “Hey, it's okay, I’m here now. I’m here.”

“Don’t ever leave like that again,” He muttered, leaning into the palm of her hand and kissing it, “Promise me.”

She moved her hand from his cheek over to the hair on the back of his head. She ran her fingers gently across his scalp, playing with the roots of his hair in attempts to calm him.

“I won’t leave,” She whispered repeatedly, leaning in to kiss him once more, “I won’t, I promise.”

Daryl leaned in and kissed her back, his tongue poking out and pressing against her bottom lip. She opened her mouth in response and groaned lightly, her body heat rising as he captured her bottom lip between his own. She pressed her lips against his in a heated, open mouthed kiss, her hips instinctively circling and rubbing against him. He let out an audible groan once she pressed up against his erection, the feeling sending shivers up and down his spine. He rolled over and hovered over the girl, his body pressing down on her own. He wrapped his arms around her head, cradling her protectively as he dipped down and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"Ya drive me crazy, ya know that?" He rasped as he nuzzled his nose into her hair, "Everythin’ about ya; the way you smell, the way you move…"

Kei turned her head, groaning and relishing the feel of his lips as he kissed his way down her throat. He nipped at her collarbone and she arched her back, her grip on his shoulders growing tight. Before she could react, he slid his hands under her back and almost frantically undid the clasp of her lacy black bra. Her lip curled between her teeth as he slid the fabric off and tossed it to some unknown spot. He leaned in and covered her mouth with his, closing his eyes as he slid his tongue between her lips in a heated kiss. Just as she lifted her head up to deepen it, he pulled away and lifted himself from her arms. He stared down at her for a moment.

Her dark eyes were fierce, the desire in them obvious. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her jet black hair everywhere, fanned out under her across the pillow.  His breathing quickened at the sight of her naked breasts and he dipped his head, placing a warm, open-mouthed kiss between them before licking and nipping at the skin. She put a hand over her mouth at the sensation, attempting to hold back a gasp as he latched onto one nipple and used his hand to knead the other. He smiled as she arched her back under him, her throat vibrating as she let out an almost pained whimper.

She lifted her hips as one hand slid down into her underwear and past the curve off her ass. He grabbed a handful along the way, making her squeak and laugh as he pushed her panties down to her thighs. He stood up to his knees and slid the fabric off her slender legs, his eyes locked on hers as he tossed the lacy fabric aside. She sat up and leaned in, their noses almost touching and their eyes never leaving each others. She gave him a playful smile as she placed her fingers on the hem of his boxers and tugged them down, feeling his fingers cover her own as they helped her along. She pecked his lips as he tossed his underwear aside, yelping and giggling when a hand suddenly pushed her back down onto the bed.

Daryl grabbed her thighs and pulled her close to him, sliding Kei’s lanky body across the mattress and making her yelp. She quickly covered her mouth, the two of them staring at each other wide-eyed before snickering quietly. He leaned down and kissed her, cupping her face with his hands before using them to gently spread her legs apart. She gasped, her mouth falling open slightly in the process as he pressed into her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him close as he placed soft kisses on her cheeks and lips.

“Wrap your legs around me,” He whispered against her mouth.

She hooked her legs around his hips, crossing her ankles in the small of his back. He groaned as the small movement opened her up and he sank even deeper into her warm body. Her mouth dropped even farther as hips started to move against hers. He began to move slowly at first, letting their bodies rock together in a gently swaying rhythm, but her sighing and panting were making him thrust harder against her, driving him closer to the edge.

He stared down at the girl under him, watching as her bottom lip curled between her teeth and her mouth formed a dreamy smile.

“Look at me,” He panted, trying to keep his moans as quiet as possible. Her eyes were still shut, her lips parting as she let out a breathy sigh. He dipped down and left a trail of hot kisses from her chin to her cheek to her ear.

“Kei, _look at me_ ,” He repeated, gently nipping the shell of her ear lobe.

She opened her eyes and looked up. The two of them smiled at each other, Kei reaching up and holding his hand as he rocked and pushed into her. Her dark eyes grew hazy as the pleasure built deep inside of her, wringing around in her stomach like a coil. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment and her mouth fell open as she was nearing the very edge.

“Oh my god,” She breathed, her voice a mix between a groan and a whisper, “Oh f…harder.”

She felt Daryl press his face down into her neck, nibbling and licking at her throat. He rocked against her harder, his hips knocking repeatedly against hers. With one final thrust and a bite of her neck, she let out a gasp and her back arched. Her muscles tensed up and shook as she climaxed, the mind-blowing sensation consuming her entire body.

“Oh my go—” Her voice was suddenly cut off by Daryl’s lips, the man fiercely kissing her as he continued to thrust inside her. Her body shuddered and jerked and her walls tightened around him, making his mouth fall and his body freeze up at the sensation. The girl wrapped her arms around him tight as he shook and groaned her name against her mouth, his muscles tensing as his own orgasm came over him. The hunter kept his lips to hers as he panted and whimpered with her, their breath tickling each others sweaty skin and their hearts pattering against each others chests. Daryl planted a hard kiss on her lips before burying his face in her neck. He drew a deep shuddering breath, his body still shaking with the aftermath of his own climax.

Kei lifted one shaky hand and wound her fingers in his hair, panting heavily as she rubbed his back with the other. She planted little kisses on the side of his moist head, whispering to him that things were going to be okay and that she wasn’t going anywhere. She loosened her grip on him as he shifted to kiss her on the lips before rolling over and laying at her side. He turned onto his side and pulled the girl into his arms, wrapping them around her protectively. Kei slung an arm over his waist and held him tight, relishing in the warmth of his body and the feel of his skin against hers. The two of them remained like that for the rest of the night; wrapped up in one another, clinging onto each other for dear life as they slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an accurate and quick doodle of my what basically went on when I wrote this chapter [(X)](http://i44.tinypic.com/2v9q3gj.jpg)  
> seriously, I basically blushed and swore and said it a thousand times that I was gonna punch myself in the face lol  
> This is my first real time writing smut, so forgive me if it's kind of like...I dunno, **not** hahaha.


	25. Killer Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Alright, alright," She breathed, nodding to herself as she took a series of shaky pants, "It's alright, it's alright..."
> 
> She took in one last breath, letting it out slowly and peering at the metal ceiling, thinking about him one last time.
> 
> "Good night, love..."

When Kei opened her eyes again, she was alone in the bunk. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with a yawn, reaching her arms out and stretching afterward. She slipped out of bed and picked her underwear up off the floor, tossing it over to the small pile of dirty clothes before walking over to her duffle. She grabbed a fresher set of underwear and [clothes](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=66585342) and changed quickly. She then grabbed her gun and her small knife and exited her cell, looking over the railing to find Carl sitting below. He was cleaning out his gun with Ame laying down peacefully beside him.

“Hey, Carl? Where is everyone?” She asked out.

The young boy looked up from his dad’s hat and smiled lightly, pointing in back of him with his thumb.

“T-Dog, Carol, and Daryl are outside bringing all the cars in,” He answered simply, “Maggie and Glenn are in the guard tower. Dad told me to tell you to bring your bike in once you woke up and had something to eat.” 

The dark haired girl nodded lightly and went back inside to grab her keys.  
  


Kei carefully rode her bike through the metal corridor and past the fenced off entrance, watching Carol up ahead as she backed the silver pickup truck into the courtyard. Rick pointed to an open spot next to Daryl’s bike and the silver Hyundai inside the gateway. She pulled up next to the hunter just as he got off his bike, smiling lightly at him as she turned off the ignition.

“You look good on that,” Daryl mentioned, nodding towards her bike, “Suits ya.” 

“Thanks,” She chirped, looking down at her most prized mode of transport, “I found it at a gas station. It’s a Kawasaki Ninja.” 

“Figures,” He scoffed, “Like I said, _it suits ya_.” 

“What the hell does _that_ mean?” She asked out, trying to keep a straight face and failing, “You bein' racist with me, boy? Huh? Are ya?!” 

“No!” He laughed, curling in as she attempted to punch him in the arm. Daryl quickly wrapped his arm around her neck and bent over, putting her in somewhat of a headlock. Kei let out a noise and grabbed at his forearms, pushing herself away and out of his hold before lunging forward and punching him in the shoulder. He curled up in defense and let out a small laugh as she tried to shove him away, pushing him towards the second gate to meet with the others in the courtyard. 

Kei walked through and watched as T-Dog drove the Chevy and moved the blue bus that was blocking the entrance earlier further to the side by chain. He rode to a stop and cut off the engine, exiting the car and taking off the chain while Rick looked around.

“Okay, let’s get the other car in,” The leader announced, pointing to the silver Hyundai at the gate, “We’ll park ‘em at the west entry of the yard.” 

“Good,” Daryl sighed, taking the tow chain from T-Dog and tossing it by the bus, “Our vehicles camped out there looked like a giant vacancy sign.” 

The four group members followed Rick up the gravel path as he pointed to all the dead inmates that still littered the grassy courtyard.

“After that we’ll need to load up these corpses so we can burn ‘em,” He instructed.

“It’ll be a _long_ day,” T-Dog sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

“Where’s Glenn and Maggie?” Carol asked out, “We could use some help.”

“Up in the guard tower,” Daryl answered, pointing over in the tower’s direction.

“The guard tower?” Rick asked, turning his head to look back at the hunter, “They were just up there last night.” 

Daryl stepped forward, cupping his hand around the side of his mouth.

“Glenn! Maggie!” He shouted. Kei looked to the guard tower up ahead and saw a head pop up in the window. She let out a giggle as the tower door swung open and Glenn’s head popped out.

“Heeeyyy!” He called nervously as he slid out, “What’s up guys?”

Kei watched as the boy fumbled with his zipper and belt. He was currently sporting no shirt and wild hair, giving the group below the universal indication that the couple was doing more than just keeping watch last night.

Rick and T-Dog let out airy laughs as they put their hands on their hips. 

“You coming?!” Daryl asked out.

“What?!” Glenn asked back, fooling with his belt some more.

Carol exchanged knowing glances with Kei and the two sputtered out a laugh, covering their mouths as Daryl continued to embarrass the hell out of the boy.

“You _coming_?!” He asked again. Poor Glenn just stood there at the tower looking confused, turning his head to look back to Maggie in the doorway.

“Come on, we could use a hand,” Daryl spoke, turning around to head back towards the cars. 

“Y-Yeah! W-We’ll be right down!” He called. Carol took hold of Kei’s arm and the two snickered and giggled amongst themselves like school children as they walked on. Rick merely shook his head with a smile and chuckled to himself.

“Hey Rick,” T-Dog spoke, his tone of voice dead serious. The four group members turned around and looked to where T-Dog’s stare was. Two bodies clad in blue were walking across the basketball courts in their cell block, and they were headed in their direction. Kei turned to Rick and saw his smile drop. His persona completely changed as he turned and started walking fiercely. His boots hit the gravel hard as he started to make his way up the path.

“Come with me,” He muttered as he brushed past Daryl and T-Dog. The two men started walking with him without hesitation. Kei took a step forward to follow, but Daryl turned around sharply and put his hand to her shoulder. He stared at her intensely, shaking his head at her and gently nudging her back towards Carol. She put her hand over his for a brief second before letting go and stepping back to be with Carol. She watched as his look softened for a moment before going hard again. He placed his hand on his knife and turned around, following Rick towards the prisoners. Carol took hold of Kei’s arm in comfort and walked forward, staying several feet away from the three men as they confronted the other two near the guard tower.

“That’s close enough,” Rick seethed, putting his hand onto the handle of his most trusted sidearm. Oscar and Axel stopped in their tracks, looking to each group member in slight desperation. Both men looked like they hadn’t slept a wink, especially Axel. He was as white as a sheet, holding his arms like something cold and evil had its arms wrapped around him.

“We had an agreement,” Rick remarked bitterly.

“Please mister,” Axel begged, “W-We know that…”

Glenn and Maggie rushed out of the guard tower, walking cautiously behind the two men as Axel continued to plead his case.

“We made a deal. But you gotta understand,” He urged, “We can’t live in that place another minute, ya follow me? All the bodies, people we knew—Blood, brains everywhere. There’s ghosts!” 

“Why don’t ya move the bodies out?” Daryl asked, 

“You should be burnin’ em,” T-Dog spoke.

“We tried! We did!” Axel yelped.

“The fence is down on the far side of the prison,” Oscar explained, “Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up.”

“Look, we had nothin’ to do with Tomas and Andrew, nothin!” The mustached inmate plead, “If you tryin’ to prove a point, you proved it bro. We’ll do whatever it takes to be apart of your group, just please! Please! Don’t make us live in that place.”

“Our deal is non-negotiable,” Rick stated firmly, “You either live in your cell block, or you leave.”

Kei watched as Axel looked to the ground in defeat. Oscar just seemed to look bitter, almost angry even,

“I told you this was a waste of time,” He huffed to his fellow inmate, “They ain’t no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. You know how many friends’ corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw ‘em out like…these were good guys, good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint, like _Tomas and Andrew_.”

Oscar’s eyes flicked over towards Kei before looking back at Rick.

“No we’ve all made mistakes to get in here, Chief,” He hissed, “And I’m not gonna pretend to be a saint, but _believe me_ , we’ve paid our due. Enough that we’d rather hit that road, than to go back into that shithole.”

Rick remained silent for a moment. He merely eyed both prisoners before turning to look back at Daryl. The hunter shook his head no lightly, his attention going back to Axel and his disturbed expression. Rick turned and looked back to the prisoners, establishing with the two men that they would discuss it. 

Daryl and Kei locked Axel and Oscar inside the gate where the Hyundai and the two bikes were parked. They clung onto the chainlink fence and watched as two walked over to the bus where the rest of the group was discussing their fate.

“Are you serious?” Kei heard Rick say to T-Dog as she walked up, “You want them livin’ in a cell next to you? They’ll just be waitin for a chance to grab our weapons. You wan—you wanna go back to sleepin’ with one eye open?”

“I never stopped,” T-Dog assured, leaning against the back of the bus as he let out a sigh, “Bring them into the fold. If we send ‘em off packing, we might as well just execute them ourselves.”

“I dunno,” Glenn spoke in an unsure tone, “Axel seems a little unstable.” 

“After all we’ve been through,” Carol whispered, “We’ve fought so hard for all of this, what if they decide to take it?”

“It’s just been us for so long,” Maggie whispered as she held herself, “They’re strangers, I don’t—it feels weird having other people around.”

“You let us in,” T-Dog reasoned. Kei watched as Maggie folded her arms and looked to the man with a shrug.

“Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms, didn’t give us a choice,”

“They can’t even kill walkers,” Glenn voiced quietly.

“They’re convicts, bottom line,” Carol whispered.

“Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do,” T-Dog debated. 

“I get guys like this,” Daryl spoke lowly, “Hell, I grew up with ‘em. They’re degenerates, but they ain’t psychos. I coulda been there with them just as easily as I’m out here with you guys. Hell, Kei was in here with ‘em, and she’s here with us now.” 

“So you with me?” T-Dog asked.

“ _Hell_ no,” Daryl rasped, pointing to the world outside the prison fences, “Let ‘em take their chances out on the road, just like we did.” 

T-Dog turned to face the hunter and tried to reason with him.

“What I’m saying Daryl—” 

“When I was a rookie I arrested this kid,” Rick added in, “19, wanted for stabbin’ his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during interrogation, during the trial… _suckered_ the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and then two weeks later, shot another girl.”

The group stayed silent for a moment, T-Dog looking at the dirt with a sigh through his nose. He was clearly on his own in this. 

“We’ve been through too much,” Rick stated firmly, “Our deal with them stands.”

And with those words, the group dispersed to clear the courtyard. After piling up all the bodies to get ready for burning, the group headed back over to the cars to bring them in further into the prison. Rick established to T-Dog and the others that the two men would receive a week’s worth of supplies for their trip out on the road. Daryl tossed his set of keys over to Glenn as Rick announced their next task.

“Move the cars to the upper yard,” He instructed, “Point them facin’ out. They’ll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as Glenn rushed up ahead to unlock the gate. Maggie went inside to drive the Hyundai while Daryl and Kei went to grab their respective bikes. Axel and Oscar stood to the side and watched with their backs against the wall of the guard tower. Kei put her key in the ignition and was ready to turn it when she heard Axel speak out towards Daryl.

“Twin Cylinders, is that a triumph?”

She turned her head and watched as Daryl threw one leg over his bike. He looked to Axel briefly.

“Don’t even look at it,” He replied coldly. She watched as Axel turned his attention towards her, admiring the bike under her.

“That’s a mighty fine Ninja you got there, too,” He expressed, “250R if I’m not mistaken. Brand new? Looks good on ya.”

“Don’t even look at her, neither,” Daryl warned bitterly. Axel looked towards the hunter and saw that he meant business as he kick started his bike and revved the throttle. Kei watched and stifled a small chuckle as the prisoner backed away a few steps. She turned on her bike and revved the throttle, waiting for Maggie to lead with the Silver Hyundai.

“Sounds like it could use a tune up!” The mustached prisoner remarked over the roaring engine, “I’m pretty handy with a wrench!”

The hunter continued to ignore the Prisoner’s sad attempt to get good with him and instead looked to Kei. He jerked his head in the gate’s direction, signaling for her to go first. She pushed her bike forward and rode close to the Hyundai’s rear. Daryl followed after her, and the group rode up the gravel path in a line towards the upper yard.

After parking her bike in the upper yard, Kei went back inside the cellblock to check on Hershel and the others. Lori and Beth had gone out to find crutches, so Carl and Ame were left in the block to watch over the farmer. She entered the block and found Carl sitting at the stairs, cleaning out his silencer with a squirrel tail. She stood at the doorway and watched as Ame laid at the boy’s feet contently, closing his eyes as Carl reached over and patted his furry head. The young boy smiled lightly before looking up at Kei, his smile growing wider as she walked up to him and knelt down. She stroked Ame’s fur lovingly as she kept her eyes locked on the young boy in front of her.

“How are you doing?” She asked, peering at his neutral expression curiously. The young boy shrugged his shoulders and looked back down at his silencer.

“Alright, I guess,” He admitted, “I’m just tired. I’m not used to sleeping yet…It’s been a while since we had somewhere safe.”

“I know,” She replied, her tone sympathetic as she placed her hand on his shoulder, “But we do now. Everything’s okay…”

“Kei,” She heard a voice call out. Kei turned around and saw Daryl in the doorway. He jerked his head towards the room in back of him, wordlessly asking to have a word with her in private. She turned to Carl and smiled before getting up and following the hunter in the other room.

“Rick and Glenn and I are goin’ out to gather wood from the forest,” He announced quietly. The dark haired girl nodded, stepping backwards to head back into the cellblock.

“I’ll go grab my stuff,”

“No,” He spoke, reaching out and gently taking hold of her arm, “No, Rick wants ya here. Needs ya to keep an eye on Lori and Hershel.”

“But I could hunt while you guys gather wood,” She protested quietly, “I could get Ren and we could—”

She stopped when she saw a concerned look flash across the hunter’s face. It wasn’t just Rick who wanted her to stay inside the safety of the prison. He wanted her to stay as well. She chewed on her lip a little and stepped up to him, getting on her toes and pressing her lips up to his. He placed a hand on the back of her head and gently pressed her to him, deepening the kiss for a good minute before breaking away with a small peck on her lips. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh through her nose, her forehead still pressed to his.

“Fine,” She whispered, sighing once more in defeat.

“We’ll go hunt later, you and me,” He promised, leaning in and kissing her once more. She felt his hand slide from the back of her head over to her cheek, cupping it gently as their lips brushed together. She placed her hands on either side of his neck, pulling him in and deepening the kiss. She broke away and pulled back to look at him, concern etched on her face.

“Be careful, okay?”

His lips curled inwards as he nodded, his blue eyes looking to the floor before looking back at her. He leaned in and gave her a small kiss to the forehead before turning away to head back outside. She held her arms and watched as he entered the hallway up ahead, darkness engulfing him completely as he walked on.

Lori and Beth walked back in from the back room. Carl and Kei watched from the steps as the two women walked in with crutches at hand. Lori smiled at the two as she carried them towards Hershel's cell, Kei and Carl glancing at each other before pursuing after her. The two came to a stop in the doorway and Kei smiled upon seeing Hershel as he sat up in the bed. He gripped onto the upper bunk's side and hoisted himself up, turning over sliding himself to the edge of the bed. The old farmer looked up at Lori. The woman smiled warmly at him.

"Just take your time," She encouraged. She held up the crutches to him and the four watched as he slid across the mattress.

"Daddy, don't push yourself," Beth plead, her hands extending out in attempts to get him to slow down. Hershel only scoffed.

"What else am I gonna do?" He asked as he lifted himself up and latched onto the crutches, "I can't stand lookin up at the bottom of that bunk any longer."

The farmer immediately began to try and walk, only managing to losing more balance and sway to one side in the process. Kei rushed forward steadied him with the help of Lori and Beth. The three women brought him back to his single foot. He hesitated for a moment, letting out a frustrated sigh before proceeding on. He began to get the feel of the crutches, patting them on the ground with his arms before moving forward slowly and steadily. Lori and Beth held onto his shoulders as he moved along bit by bit. They stopped at the doorway, the old farmer taking a small breath and looking down at the crutches,

"You know…think I'm pretty steady,"

He looked over at Lori, and then back down at Carl who stood in the entrance way, staring up at the older man. They slowly moved out of the cell and Lori smiled lightly.

"That's a good start," She chirped, looking at his footwork as they inched along, "You wanna take a rest?"

"Rest?" The old farmer asked with a light and hearty laugh, "Let's go for a little stroll."

Hershel moved past Lori and began to slowly course along on his crutches. The three women and the little boy followed closely, each of them smiling lightly to themselves at the farmer's determination.

Lori moved past Beth into the small, dark corridor. Carl and Kei stayed by his sides as he moved forward, the two narrowing their eyes from the bright daylight that pooled in as Lori opened the other door. Ame darted ahead and made his way down the steps, barking lightly in excitement to be outside again. As they exited the cellblock, she could hear the sputtering engines of Hershel's red chevy and the green Hyundai. Carol was driving Hershe'ls car along as Maggie was backing the Hyundai towards the silver truck in the courtyard. T-Dog was helping direct the Hyundai along, Ame rushing up to the man's side and watching.

"A little help here, Kei," Lori announced.

The girl turned her head back to the task at hand and saw that Hershel was already at the base of the stairs. Her hands hovered over his shoulders and she watched closely as he made his way down the steps. The old farmer took it one step at a time as best as he could, swaying about as he inched his way down the steps. His stopped for a moment's time and started tipping backwards towards her and Beth before swaying more towards Lori. She put her hand on his chest and steadied him as he continued to climb down the stairs, Beth and Kei following closely at his back. He seemed to do better as he reached the last step and exited the corridor, finally being able to spread out the crutches and use them properly in such a flat, open space.

Kei couldn't help but smile while she, Beth, Carl, and Lori walked next to him. The four of them looked around courtyard, staring out at all their progress as they walked along.

"You cleared all those bodies out?" The farmer asked in surprise, "It's startin' to look like a place we could really live in…"

"Watch your step," Lori warned in a friendly tone, "The last thing we need is you fallin."

Ame rushed up to Carl's side and trotted along, his tail wagging in happiness with his tongue hanging out. Carl giggled and patted his head as they walked along.

"Alright Hershel!!" Glenn cheered out from afar. Carl looked on towards the fence where they had originally broken in through. He and his dad were inside with bundles of wood in their arms. They let it drop to the ground and watched with smiles on their faces as Hershel moved about. The young boy turned and looked to the courtyard. Carol, T-Dog, and Maggie were watching as well, smiles on each of their faces. Releif and thankfulness was on everyone's face, along with a strong sense of hope. They had managed to overcome a lot this past year, but saving Hershel's life like they did seemed to surpass them all by far.

The group moved past the bleachers and slowly began coming to a stop at the fence.

"You're doin' great, daddy," Beth chirped with a vibrant smile. Carl looked down at Ame, and then to the one legged man,

"Ready to race Hershel?"

"Give me another day," He answered with a crooked smile, "I'll take you both on."

"Five bucks says Hershel wins," Kei spoke with a smirk. Carl looked to her and stuck his tongue out. She stuck her tongue out and dipped his hat in front of his face in retaliation. She let out a playful laugh as Carl grunted and straightened his hat out. He looked up to her with a smirk, and then back out at the fence. The five looked out across the prison yard, seeing Rick, Daryl, and Glenn staring back at them. Glenn and Rick, like the rest of the group, had smiles on their faces. Ren was at their side, barking about in excitement. Seeing Hershel alive and well after being bit and going through something so harsh, it really gave the group a sense of hope.

Kei looked out to Daryl and smiled, putting a hand to her hip and running a free hand through her hair. The Hunter looked back at her from afar, a crooked half smile on his face.

The smile on Kei's face soon faded when she heard a low growl coming from the animal at Carl's side. Ame was looking back towards the cell block, his face crinkled into a menacing snarl as he bared his teeth. Kei knitted her eyebrows and half-cocked her head, her ears picking up a very familiar sound over Ame's growls. She noticed Carl perking up at the sound as well, the two of them turning around to look at the source with wide eyes.

"Walkers!" Carl's frantic voice cried out as he stumbled back.

A small herd of walkers began to pool out of the basketball court only several feet away. Kei stared at them in utter shock and disbelief. She could've sworn that the gate had been locked shut. What on earch could have happened?!

Ame barked incessantly, startling Lori and Beth while Hershel only turned.

"Look out!" Carl yelled.

Kei yanked her pistol from the back of her waistband and took aim, pulling the trigger and taking down a Walker in the head. She heard more gunshots around her, ignoring them as she concentrated on the herd of molded meat staggering towards them. 

"Daddy, come on!" She heard Beth yell behind her. 

All hell seemed to break loose as the Walkers began to split up, staggering about in different directions, targeting different members of their group. After firing another shot and taking down a civilian walker, Kei looked over to see Beth leading Hershel to a staircase across the courtyard. The petite blonde screamed in horror as a Walker jumped at her and her father. Kei screamed her name and ran forward, pointing her gun at the creature and quickly pulling the trigger. The creature's head flung to the side, its brains scattering out and splattering against the wall. She then looked over her shoulder, seeing Maggie, Carol, and T-Dog running up with their guns held forward,

"The gate’s open!" T-Dog shouted as he took down another walker. He ran up and stopped next to Kei. They rose their pistols once more, pulling the trigger and sending two more Walkers to the concrete. 

"We have to close it!" She cried, firing at another walker that had tried to rush at her from the side,

T-Dog reached out and grabbed her skinny arm, yanking her back and pushing her towards Carl and Lori. 

"Help ‘em out! Get ‘em outta here!" He yelled, "Go! Now!" 

Kei nodded and rushed after the Grimes family without hesitation. Ame darted past her, barking his head off in attempts to draw walkers away from the group. As one walker crossed her sights, the dark haired girl charged forward jumped up, extending her leg out and slamming the creature back with her foot. The walker toppled over with a loud growl and writhed around in attempts to get up. She rushed up to the fallen creature slammed down onto it's fragile skull with her boot. 

"Kei!" She heard Maggie yell amongst the gunfire, "Kei this way! Hurry!" 

The dark haired girl turned and saw Lori and Carl rushing up the steps inside the metal corridor they had just exited. Maggie was at the wire door, firing her gun at another walker that had approached her. As two more walkers staggered in towards Maggie's left, Kei raised her pistol and fired one last shot before her gun slide locked back. She let out a swear and shoved her now empty pistol back into her waistband. She quickly rushed forward, reaching in back and sliding out her Katana in one fluid motion. She charged forward and swung her sword across the second walker's head, slicing off the top half in one go. She pushed Maggie inside and yanked the rusted wire door shut. The two of them turned around and rushed up the stairs, following Lori and Carl into the dark prison.

Kei quickly reloaded her weapon and rushed through the dark halls with Carl on point. Maggie stayed close to Lori as they tried to dodge all the walkers that were now staggering loose through the halls. Sirens had begun blaring from out of nowhere, the loud noise getting every walker in the prison riled up.

 

Everyone tried to keep a level head amongst all the noise and chaos, running through the halls with burning determination to get to safety. Carl rushed up ahead and looked down the corridor, gripping his gun tightly as he pointed towards each hall they passed. Lori was starting to lag behind, staggering about with her hand on her stomach. Kei turned around and watched as the leader’s wife turned the corner and leaned against the wall, gripping her stomach in pain. Maggie rushed over to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

“You gotta keep up,”

“Somethin’s not right,” Lori groaned.

“Were you bit?!” Carl asked out.

“No no no, no,” Lori breathed, letting out a grunt in pain. She turned around slowly and leaned against the wall, letting out labored pants and grunts as Maggie felt the woman’s swollen stomach.

“I think the baby’s coming!” She gasped.

Kei couldn’t help but let out a loud swear. Of course, now of all times when hell was breaking loose, the baby just had to be on its way. Were this any other time, she would be jumping up and down with joy, but right now Walkers were running loose and they were all in danger.

“Mom?!” Carl yelped, confusion overcoming him with the blaring of the siren and the small herd of walkers slowly approaching them from up ahead. Kei looked to them and then reached out, grabbing Carl’s hand and pulling him back.

“There’s no time! Turn back! Let’s go!”

She pushed Carl forward and helped Maggie carry Lori along. The young boy was on point as he lead them back down the hallway. He pointed his gun forward and stopped in his tracks when he saw the shadows of a small pack of walkers coming fast. He turned back and led them through another hall that they had passed prior to Lori’s sudden labor. He lead them down the faintly lit hall and turned the corner, stopping suddenly and walking back. Kei was just about to yell at him and ask what he was doing when he rushed over to the metal door beside her.

  
“In here!” He exclaimed, swinging the door open and ushering them inside. Maggie and Kei helped Lori inside and brought her down the steps, listening to Carl repeatedly attempt to yank the door shut. He finally managed to close it with one final pull before rushing down the stairs to scout around the room. Once he announced that they were in the clear, Maggie and Kei helped the pregnant woman down the steps and further into the room. Lori staggered around, grasping onto everything she could as she walked on through the abandoned boiler room. She found a clump of chains hanging off of a thick pipe and clung to if for dear life. She let out several heavy breaths and strained groans as the contractions were getting worse.

“Ugh,” She let out, taking several deep breaths as she attempted to bare through the pain, “Wh…What are those alarms?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Maggie assured, running a hand through her own sweaty hair. Lori gripped onto her stomach and staggered forward, trying to look for a chair or something more stable to lean onto.

“Lori, let’s lay you down,” Kei urged, following the woman into a small office adjacent to the boiler room.

“No,” She breathed, swallowing hard and wincing at another contraction, “Baby’s comin’ now…”

Carl looked to his mother with wide eyes, worry etched on his face as he turned to the door.

“W-We have to get back to our cell block and have Hershel help with the—”

“No, we can’t risk getting caught out there,” Kei objected, holding Lori’s shoulders and massaging them in attempts to ease the tension.

“She’s right,” Maggie replied quickly, “Yer gonna need to give birth to this baby now,”

“Okay,”

Lori’s breathing suddenly became rushed and audible, making Carl’s eyes widen even more than before.

“Wh—what’s the matter?! Can she breathe?!” He asked, panicking as his mother let out a drawn out groan in pain.

“She’s fine,” Maggie assured, “Lori come here, let’s get your pants off.”

She hurriedly undid Lori’s belt and asked Kei to come over and help lay her down. The dark haired girl did so and helped slide down her jeans and underwear, trying her best to keep the woman as calm and comfortable as possible. Maggie looked up at Carl and could see the panic and fear in his eyes. She gave him a determined look, trying to drag the boy back down to the task at hand.

“You’re gonna need to help up deliver your brother or sister,” Maggie ordered, “You up for it?”

Kei turned and looked at him, watching as the young boy tried to swallow his fear down like a large pill. He gave them his best determined look, only to look back down at his mother and grow worried again.

“Check if she’s dilated,” Kei spoke, wiping Lori’s moist forehead. 

Maggie tossed the woman’s jeans aside and looked down between the woman’s legs.

“Do you know how?” Carl asked, his voice shaking a little.

“Dad taught me, but trust me it’s my first time,” She spoke, observing closely before looking over to Kei, “I can’t tell.”

“She’s gotta push,” Kei stated, looking down at the leader's wife, “Okay Lori, we’re gonna get you up now.”

“Okay,” She panted, “I’ve gotta push…”

Kei and Maggie hoisted the woman up and helped her as she gripped onto a set of pipes. Kei held onto the woman’s hips in comfort as Maggie looked down to check and see if she had made any progress. The woman screwed her eyes shut and let out a strained grunt as she tried to push.

“Somebody!” She let out, her voice cracking and struggling. Kei put a hand up and winced as the woman held it with an iron grip.

“I’m okay! I’m okay,” Lori breathed, panting heavily as Maggie and Kei began giving her words of encouragement.

“You’re doing great Lori, You‘re doing great,” Kei assured.

“Your body knows what to do, let it do all the work,” Maggie instructed. Lori let out another yelp as another contraction hit her like a ton of bricks. Kei rubbed the woman’s back with one hand and gripped Lori’s hand even tighter with the other. She watched as Maggie knelt down and continued to check. The woman let out another series of labored pants as she gathered more courage and energy. She took a deep breath before screwing her eyes shut and pushing with all her might.

“Lori stop don’t push!” Maggie cried, “Something’s wrong!!”

Kei practically jumped when the woman let out a blood curdling scream. She turned to Maggie and looked down as the brunette held out her hand. Blood was covering her fingers and gathering in the middle of her palm.

It was after that the sirens suddenly shut off with a low groan. Carl rushed over and helped the two women lay Lori down on the ground. The leader’s wife had grown pale, her skin warm and clammy. Her breathing was getting heavier by the minute and she hadn’t opened her eyes.

“Mom,” Carl called, gripping onto her limp and bony hand tightly, “Mom, look at me! Look at me, keep your eyes open!”

“We have to get you back to Hershel,” Kei spoke, taking the woman’s other hand and holding it tight. She watched as the women’s green eyes looked up to the ceiling, tears slowly starting to form at the corners.

“I’m not gonna make it,” She breathed, her eyes wandering about and looking to each member of the group.

“But Lori with all this blood, I don’t think you’re even fully dilated yet,” Maggie reasoned.

“She’s right, no amount of pushing is gonna help,” Kei stressed, her mind racing to try and find a solution.

“I know what it means,” Lori sighed, “And I’m not losin' my baby…You’ve got to cut me open.”

Maggie looked to Kei, both their eyes widening in shock. Maggie let out a few rapid breaths in panic and she shook her head.

“No,” She refused, “I can’t…”

“You don‘t have a choice,” The woman breathed, “One of you has to…”

“I’ll go get help!” Carl exclaimed, shooting straight up and rushing for the door.

“No!” Lori bit over Maggie and Kei’s refusal. The boy stopped in his tracks and turned around, facing his mother and the stern look on each of their faces. Kei turned and looked down at Lori, re-gripping her sweaty hand in desperation as Maggie leaned forward.

“Look, Carol’s the only one who practiced that,” The farmer’s daughter reasoned, “Dad only taught me the steps Lori, if I—”

“Please,” Lori begged, her voice just barely above a whisper.

“I have no anesthetic, no equipment—”

“Kei has a knife…” The woman whispered, turning her head towards the dark haired girl at her side.

“Lori, you won’t survive,” Kei remarked, gently putting her hand on Lori’s clammy forehead.

“My baby has to survive,” The woman slurred, fatigue causing the woman’s breathing to get heavier, “Please…my baby…for all of us...”

When she didn’t hear an answer, the woman became more desperate, gripping Kei’s hand tightly. Time was running out for the life that was dwelling inside her. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made now.

“Please! Maggie!” She begged out between labored pants, “Kei, please…please…”

Maggie’s bottom lip curled inward as her eyes became glassy with tears. She shook her head rapidly, looking to Kei with desperation on her face. The dark haired girl merely looked down at the woman, watching as her eyes fluttered shut, and her chest as it rose high and fell deep with each breath. She let go of Lori’s hand and crawled over next to Maggie. She reached over and pulled up Lori’s shirt, exposing her swollen tummy and a faded scar line that rested next to the star tattoo on her lower hip.

“See my old C-section scar?” She breathed. Maggie eyed the faint pink lines and shook her head repeatedly.

“I can’t!”

“You can,” Lori breathed, shutting her eyes as she took another deep breath, “You have to…”

“I’ll do it,” Kei uttered. Everyone looked to her, seeing the determined look on her face as she eyed the scars.

“I’ll do it,” She repeated firmly, nodding as she turned to look at Maggie, “I can do it, but you have to help me take the baby out. Please.”

Maggie hiccupped a little and wiped her eyes, swallowing her fears as she nodded her head. Kei nodded back to her and looked to Lori, a content smile on the woman’s face as she took her son’s hand.

“Carl?” She breathed, gripping his hand tight, “Baby I don’t want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you…You take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister. You take care of them--”

“You don’t have to do this,” Carl whimpered, wiping the tears that began to spill from his eyes.

"Oh, you're gonna be fine," She assured with a smile. She looked directly into her son's eyes, his own heart. A sudden spark of energy was surging through her as the words began to spill from her mouth, 

"You are gonna beat this world, I know you will," She encouraged with passion and determination in her eyes, "You are smart, and you are strong, and you are _so_ brave. And I love you..."

Carl wiped his nose and sniffled, trying to calm his shaky breathing as he gripped onto his mother's hand for dear life. He held onto it like it was the last good thing on this entire earth. 

"I-I love you too,"

Her hard expression immediately softened as she looked into her son’s teary eyes. Those eyes that reminded her so much of his daddy, her love.

"You gotta do what's right baby," She whispered softly, sniffling as she tried to keep from breaking down, "You promise me you'll always do what's right…”

She looked away for a moment, listening to her little boy’s sobs as she thought back to all that she had done to him and put her poor husband through.

“It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world,” She explained, “So don’t—So if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright? If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you…”

She turned to look up at her baby boy—so grown, and so brave as he looked down at her with tears on his cheeks. She reached up and touched his left cheek lovingly, swiping the tears away with her hand.

“You're so good,” She choked out with a proud and heartbreaking grin, “My sweet boy, you're the best thing I ever did. I love you. I love you, my sweet sweet boy, I love you!"

She choked into a sob as she pulled him down to her, hugging him tightly as she completely broke down and cried. The tears spilled from her eyes as she cried out how much she loved him, from the very bottom of her heart. She cried and secretly prayed that he and Rick would survive and be safe and happy, and that she wouldn’t have the benefit of seeing them on the other side anytime soon. She hugged her baby boy close and kissed the side of his sweaty head repeatedly before pushing him away. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at the blurry ceiling, listening to the quiet sobs coming from Maggie in front of her. Lori swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a deep and shaky breath.

"Okay, okay now, okay," She replied, looking to the tearless girl sitting beside Maggie, "Kei, when this is over, you’re gonna have to—”

“Shhh! Sh!” Maggie interrupted, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to block out Lori’s request.

“She _has_ to do it, it can't be Rick!" She begged out. Maggie swallowed deeply and looked to the floor, taking deep shaky breaths through her nose as tears continued to spill out. Kei looked down to the floor and scooted closer, getting between Lori’s legs and observing the scar closely. She slipped the knife out from her side and took a deep shaking breath as the woman looked to her with a nod. She gripped Carl’s hand and looked to him with a small comforting smile before looking to the ceiling.

"Alright, alright," She breathed, nodding to herself as she took a series of shaky pants, "It's alright, it's alright..."

She took in one last breath, letting it out slowly and peering at the metal ceiling, thinking about him one last time.

"Good night, love..."

Kei looked down at Lori’s stomach and said a quick prayer for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry,” She let out, pressing the knife down into the woman’s side and sliding it across. She flinched as her skin split apart like a zipper and blood began to ooze out. Lori let out the most terrifying scream, causing Maggie to cry harder and Carl to freak out more.

“Stop it!!” The young boy cried out, “STOP IT! YOU’RE KILLING HER!!”

She kept her focus and went on as she slid the kife across the woman’s abdomen. She felt Lori shake and suddenly grow quiet. She looked up for only a second to see the woman passed out from shock. Maggie sniffled lightly as Kei pulled the skin open to give the farmer’s daughter better access.

“I need you to cut the uterus,”

Maggie swallowed hard and took the knife from Kei’s bloodied hand. She reached in and carefully cut across, trying her best to keep a level head as she opened up the organ and reached inside.

“I-I see it,” She announced, her hands shifting around in Lori’s stomach, “I’m gonna pull him out…I can’t tell if this is the arm or the leg…okay got it, I’m gonna pull the baby out.”

“Okay,” Carl rasped, wiping his teary eyes as Maggie slowly pulled out a tiny newborn from his mother’s open stomach. Carl’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of such a tiny little thing still covered in blood and gook. It’s appearance didn’t surprise him though, it was the fact that the baby hadn’t made a single sound yet.

In fact, it wasn’t making a single move.

Maggie patted the baby’s bottom, watching closely with frantic eyes as the baby made no reaction. She rubbed the baby’s chest lightly with her fingertips. Still no response.

“Turn him over,” Kei spoke quickly, crawling close as Maggie carefully turned the newborn on its stomach. Kei reached over and rubbed the baby’s back with her 3 fingers, patting it gently and jumping at the sudden sound of a wail. The three of them let out a breath of relief, Carl quickly springing into action and taking off his tattered vest. He handed it over to Maggie, letting the girl use it as a swaddle blanket. Kei reached out and carefully cut the umbilical cord, looking down and smiling lightly at the new life before her.

“It’s a girl,” She announced, turning to look at Carl. The young boy paid no mind though, instead he looked to his mother; sweaty, pale, and no longer breathing. She laid lifeless on the floor, her eyes shut, remnants of tears still sitting in the corner of her eyes. The young boy wiped his nose and eyes, sniffling as Kei and Maggie got up behind him.

“We have to go,” Kei spoke, carefully slipping her knife back into her side sheath.

"W-We can’t just leave her here!” Carl yelped as he stood up straight, “…She’ll turn…”

Kei reached for her gun when the young boy held out his hand and stopped her.

“No,” He rasped, more tears rolling down his freckled cheeks, “She’s my mom…”

He gripped his own gun and held it firmly to his side.

“…I’ll do it,”

Kei looked into his sad, pleading eyes and watched as the young boy piled yet another burden onto his shoulder. Her lips curled inward and she nodded without a word. She turned and looked to Maggie with the new baby.

“Let’s go,”

Maggie nodded lightly and held the newborn close as they rushed up the steps. Kei went first as she slowly opened up the metal door, peeking outside to see two more walkers turn the corner up ahead. She turned to Maggie and whispered for her to stay put so she could get Carl. The brunette nodded, her body still shaking as she cradled the baby close. Kei put a hand on her shoulder as she brushed past, heading to the top of the stairs when she flinched. The loud bang of a gunshot ran throughout the room. Not long after, Carl came into sights and walked sternly past Kei and Maggie. His face was neutral and his movements were strict. There were no tears on the boy’s face as he walked out of the boiler room with a new form of bravery, leading the two women and his new sister through the hall.

 

“Hershel!” Rick cried as he rushed back into the courtyard. Glenn, Daryl, Oscar, and Axel followed suit, looking around the empty courtyard in hopes to find any one of the people they had gone in to look for. Hershel, Ren, Ame and Beth stood atop the steps, no longer hiding inside the wire corridor behind them.

“You didn’t find ‘em?” He asked out, watching as the five men rushed up to them and stopped at the bottom of the steps.

“Thought maybe they came back out here,” Glenn answered. Both Hershel and Beth shook their heads, the worry now clearly visible on both their faces.

“What about T? Carol?” The old farmer asked.

“They didn’t make it,” Daryl rasped,

“That doesn’t mean the others didn’t,” Rick stated firmly, “We’re going back! Daryl, Glenn, you come with m—”

An innocent little wail suddenly rang out from behind the leader. His eyes widened and he turned around sharply, watching as Kei, Carl, and Maggie exited the metal cage they had previously entered for safety. Both Kei and Maggie’s hands and arms were drenched in blood. The leader’s eyes fell to the farmer’s daughter. She was holding something extra in her arms; something small and living all bundled up in Carl’s flannel shirt.

Maggie stepped out onto the courtyard slowly, her eyes wide with shock and her voice stammering about. All she could do was swallow and gasp and try to keep from breaking down. She turned and looked to Kei for help, but the girl was at a loss for words. There was nothing that either of them could say. No one wanted to say it.

Rick stepped forward, his mind drawing a blank when he noticed one body missing. A million and one naïve thoughts raced across his brain all at once. _She’s sleeping. She got separated from the group. She’s back in the cell block resting._

But only one thought seemed to truly stick, and that thought was the truth.

His wife didn’t make it.

He stepped forward. Lori was gone. His feet suddenly felt like lead weights. His arms went limp and he let the axe he was gripping fall carelessly to the ground. His wife was gone. Gravity suddenly felt like it was pushing down on him. He began to lose balance as he slightly staggered towards the three. He shook his head.

Lori was gone.

She was gone.

“Wh—” He stepped all the way to the left before staggering to the right, “Wh—where is she?”

His eyes looked to Maggie and the girl looked like she was going to break down and sob at any minute. He looked to Carl, the boy’s face deadpan as he stared at the pavement. He then looked to Kei. She didn’t look frantic like Maggie. She didn’t even look like she was here in the courtyard. Her face was as vacant as Carl‘s. No tears, just cold and dark eyes that said all that they needed to say. They had witnessed horror, the loss of a life.

“Where—where is she?” He repeated, the words heavy and bitter on his tounge, “Where’s she at?”

When no one answered right away, he shook his head and rushed forward. If no one was going to tell him, he was going to find out himself.

“N-No!” Maggie sniveled out, reaching out and grabbing his arm with one sticky, blood-covered hand, “No Rick! No!”

The man stopped next to Carl and put his hands to his face, letting out a cry that would’ve made God himself mourn in agony.

“Ohhh Nooo no no no!” He cried out, “No!”

Maggie choked out a sob and rushed to Glenn’s side. The boy gently cupped her cheeks and tried her best to comfort her, but she continued to stammer and sob as Rick let out a painful cry and fell to the pavement. Carl stood there firmly as his emotions betrayed him, tears managing to spill out and stream down his cheeks once more. Kei’s lips trembled and she screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the gut wrenching cries from Rick, and the echo of the blood curdling scream Lori had let out before leaving this world. Her heart thumped in her chest and her knees were growing weak.

_Don’t cry. Don’t cry._

She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. Lori’s blood had covered them completely, and spread its way up to the middle of her forearms. She stared at them in sudden realization.

She had cut Lori open.

She had killed Lori.

Her heart began to thump harder in her chest. She had killed Lori. She rubbed at her hands furiously, her eyes widening in panic at her sudden realization. She had killed Rick’s wife, Carl’s mother, the new baby’s Mother. He breathing became ragged as she rubbed her warm, sticky hands furiously, uselessly attempting to rub off the reminder of what she had just done. Her breathing had become heavy and ragged, her mind racing as she remembered Lori’s eyes when she screamed and shook violently in shock. She remembered the blood spilling out onto her hands and spreading across the floor. 

The dark haired girl let out a noise that was quickly cut off when a body pressed up against her. She felt two strong arms wrap themselves around her, Daryl’s familiar musky scent engulfing her sense of smell. She buried her head into his chest and screwed her eyes shut, whimpering as the others wept and mourned in silence around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter to write, if i'm gonna be honest. And nooo it's not because Lori died (i still don't get why some people in this fandom have this burning hatred for her), it's because the acting in this episode was freaking spectacular, and all the emotions that went down and Lori's speech to Carl and ugh. I love it. 
> 
> Andrew Lincoln should have won an award for that ending when he started crying, jesus christ. it almost had me crying lol


	26. Say The Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The good news is she looks healthy,” He diagnosed, “But she needs formula, and soon or she won’t survive.”
> 
> “Nope, no way,” Daryl said with a firm shake of his head, “Not her. We ain’t losin’ nobody else, I’m goin for a run.”

Glenn and Daryl did their very best to calm Maggie and Kei down. Although a dark cloud still loomed over the group, the pleading cries of the new baby was the only thing keeping them remotely level headed.

“Hey,” Daryl rasped, gently holding the back of Kei’s neck with his hands, “Look at me.”

Kei looked up from the courtyard floor and stared directly at the hunter in front of her. His eyes were firm in this moment, trying their best to keep her here in the courtyard mentally rather than in some dark manic corner.

“S’alright,” He assured “Listen to—Hey, listen to me. It’s gonna be alright…”

“I-I’m fine,” She assured, wiping her nose and looking to the pavement, “I’ll be fine. Check on Rick.”

He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the forehead, placing his hands on her shoulders in comfort before tearing away to check on the Leader in mourning.

“Rick,” Daryl called, observing the dazed and horrified look on Rick’s face as he approached. He stood in front of the man, watching as his bright blue eyes wandered about. It was almost like was looking for Lori in the courtyard. The hunter got down on one knee and stared at him, watching as the leader swayed about and took deep, ragged breaths.

“Rick, you with me?” Daryl asked, watching as the leader’s eyes darted right to him. He stared at the hunter wordlessly, his face still pale and etched with horror and shock. Daryl waved a hand in front of his face, but the leader didn’t blink nor say a word.

“Rick,” He called once more, only to earn another wordless stare from the broken man in front of him. Daryl looked to the ground in disappointment before taking a sharp breath through his nose. He got up off the ground and turned around, mentally manning himself up to take charge of the group while Rick was out of it.

“Let me see the baby,” Hershel called, watching as Maggie handed the wailing baby over to Carl. Daryl turned and walked up to the boy, looking down at the little pink bundle of life wrapped in the boy’s dirty flannel.

“We gotta feed it,” He spoke out, looking over to the old farmer, “We got anythin’ a baby can eat?”

Kei looked at Rick briefly before walking over to the group, checking on the little girl that continued to wail as Hershel checked her.

“The good news is she looks healthy,” He diagnosed, “But she needs formula, and soon or she won’t survive.”

“Nope, no way,” Daryl said with a firm shake of his head, “Not her. We ain’t losin’ nobody else, I’m goin for a run.”

“I’ll back you up,” Maggie spoke.

“I’ll go too,” Glenn added in.

“Okay, think of where we’re goin,” Daryl instructed, turning over to the little blonde next him, “Beth…”

He pulled her to the side and talked quietly to her about something the rest of the group couldn‘t hear. While he did so, Kei turned her head and looked back at Rick. He was staring over at his axe on the ground, looking at it with wide and manic eyes.

“You two get the fence!” She heard Daryl call out to Axel and Oscar, “Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem! Glenn! Maggie! _Vamanos_!”

Kei kept her eyes on Rick and watched as he suddenly sprung up off the ground. He rushed over and picked up the axe, turning around sharply and walking back towards the cellblock with loud angry footsteps.

“Rick!” Kei called, stepping forward only to stop and watch the back of his head.

“Get the gate!” Daryl snapped out, “Come on we’re gonna lose the light!!”

Everyone sprung into action at the sound of the hunter’s loud and demanding voice. Kei took a deep breath through her nose and mentally picked herself up again. She had to keep focus. This baby needed formula soon, otherwise she’d die as well. No one else in the group was going to let that happen. She sure as hell wasn’t either.

She turned on her heel and rushed over to Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie as they prepared for their run.

“Is their any place that hasn’t been completely looted?” Daryl asked as he set his crossbow down on his seat.

Maggie opened up the car door and started digging around for a backpack.

“We saw signs for a shopping center just north of here,” Glenn mentioned.

“Yeah but there’s too much debris on the road,” Maggie replied, “The car’ll never get through there.”

“I can take one of ya,” Daryl spoke.

“I’ll go,” Maggie offered.

Kei watched as Glenn stepped closer to his girlfriend and started whispering to her. Worry was clear on his face as the two started to talk amongst themselves. She turned towards Daryl and watched as he slipped on his poncho.

“I wanna go out too,” She spoke out, watching as he placed is crossbow in the back and turned to face her, “I saw a Target about 45 minutes from here, I can break in and try to find some food and clothes for the baby.”

“I don’t want ya goin' out there by yourself,” He insisted, “Stay here with Carl and Beth, watch over the—”

“I wanna go,” She interrupted, her voice firm as she took a breath through her nose, “Please…for Lori, I have to…”

She looked Daryl directly in the eyes and watched as uncertainty took over his expression. He chewed on the inside of his lip and looked down to the pavement before looking back up at her.

“…Fine,” He let out, “But you take Ren with ya. And yer to be here when I get back, ya understand? If it’s overrun, ya come straight back and that’s it. Don’t be lookin' anywhere else.”

“I won’t,” She promised, relieved that she finally had some freedom.

“I mean it, Kei,” He said firmly, “I ain’t losin' no one else today.”

“I know,” She replied honestly.

“Especially you,” He stated, looking right at her dark eyes making sure that his point got across to her. He watched as a light smile slowly formed itself on her face. She stepped forward and placed her hands on his cheeks, gently pulling him in for a kiss. She felt him flinch a little and freeze in place as their lips touched, but it was only for a second before he kissed her back. The faint smile on her lips grew slightly bigger as she broke away, pressing her forehead to his and closing her eyes.

“Be safe, okay?”

She opened her eyes and stepped back from the bike with folded arms. She watched as he nodded to her, tuning on the engine and revving it. Soon after, Maggie came up and gave Kei a quick hug before she went over and threw her leg over the bike. She sat down in back and held onto Daryl as he pushed forward and rode the bike down towards the gate. Both Glenn and Kei watched with worried looks on their faces as they rode past the wire gate and made their way out of the prison. When Oscar and Axel closed the gate shut, Kei took a deep breath through her nose and turned back to the cell block. It was time to do her duty as well.

 

Ren and Kei traveled 37 miles out from the prison to the Target. They had crossed the abandoned store in their earlier pursuit to find the group, and now it was time to see what it had to offer.

When the two arrived, [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=66013481) herself was surprised to find that little to no walkers were roaming around outside. A majority of the creatures laid dead across the parking lot, sun dried remnants of blood and brains splattered everywhere. Ren trotted up ahead and sniffed around, checking to make sure none of these walkers were merely dormant and waiting to pounce. Kei cut off the engine of her bike and pushed kickstand forward with her foot. Slowly she got off, looking around at the empty lot cautiously.

The place was quiet, minus the sounds of ravens squawking and picking at the rotted flesh of the dead littered around them. The dark haired girl tightened the straps of her backpack before turning to her bike, grabbing her military duffle from the back. She placed it on the ground beside her and slid out her flashlight, turning it on and putting the end in her mouth. She slid out her sword and picked up her empty duffle, walking with Ren past the shattered glass doors and into the dimly lit store.

Ren maneuvered around the bodies that were scattered across the dirty tile floors. Employees, security guards, civilians, and even some military men were everywhere. Kei was shocked to say the least. Whoever came through here, came through here with an iron fist. Bullet shells were everywhere, along with boot prints made out of dried blood. Kei pointed to the tile floor with her flashlight and knelt down, setting her bag to the side and touching the print with her fingertips. Male combat boot, size 10. Bits of mud and dried leaves. He was probably camped out in the forest somewhere. She pointed her flashlight around the walker bodies. Their heads were bashed in the back with something blunt. It was wide, a pole-type weapon of some kind, maybe a pipe?

She felt something wet and cold nudge her arm. She to looked to the left and saw Ren’s harsh golden eyes staring at her. She wanted to keep moving. Kei nodded lightly and grabbed her bag, standing up straight and quietly walking forward. They wandered throughout the store, stepping over body after body in the process. It wasn’t until they hit the women’s clothing section that they found a walker. Despite it’s wrinkled and modly appearance, Kei could tell that this female walker was about the age of a teenager when she died. Its blonde hair was now matted and missing in huge patches, exposing it’s bloody pus-covered skull for all to see.

Kei set down her bag and readied her sword as Ren lunged forward. The Red Wolf got close to the walker, causing the undead teen to growl and reach out for it in hunger. The creature turned and followed the wolf as it darted past her, obliviously exposing the back of her bloody head for Kei to easily crack open. The girl rushed forward and raised her sword high, bringing it down quickly onto the walker’s soft skull. Her blade went straight down and cut through the walker’s soft brain. It went through easily like a knife to butter. She yanked her sword out from its head and kicked it square in the back, watching as it fell back and hit the ground with a thud. The dark haired girl flicked her sword to the side quickly before stepping past the body.

Ren scouted around and managed to find two more walkers near the baby section. Kei managed to decapitate one, and stab the other in the chest before slicing half of its head off. Once they were eliminated, Kei picked up her duffle bag and flashlight again and began to quickly browse the aisles. There were plenty of cribs and baby seats lying around, but so far diapers and bottles were looking scarce. She managed to find one pink fuzzy swaddling blanket, along with a yellow newborn onesie with a monkey on it. She shoved them in her backpack and started scanning the metal shelves with her flashlight.

She climbed up one shelf and felt inside, her hand touching something hard and made out of cardboard. She fumbled around a bit, but she managed to grab it and pulled it down with her as she got off the shelf. One box of pampers: newborn pack, 88 count. She smiled at the box and shoved it inside her duffle. She resumed searching the aisles and found a couple cloth diapers lying about, along with two bottles and a box of opened baby wipes. She was thankful for these items and all, but what she really needed was food. Without food, the baby didn’t stand a chance.

Suddenly, a loud _CLANG!_ went off through the store.

Kei and Ren both perked up.

Something fell onto the floor only two aisles away.

Kei sucked in a breath and pulled out her sword, looking down at Ren and gesturing for her to go forward. The red wolf growled lightly and cautiously trotted out to the edge of the aisle.

She could hear the sound of footsteps approaching behind her. They weren’t heavy and sloppy like a walker. They were light, cautious, and ready to attack. This little fact made the girl’s eyebrow arch upward before her mouth opened in realization. She closed her eyes and mentally slapped herself, letting out a small “stupid” under her breath.

The survivor with the pipe. He was still here.

She gripped her sword tightly and took a few steps forward, seemingly oblivious to her enemy that was sneaking behind her. She took a sharp breath through her nose, her heart racing, her adrenaline peaking as she stepped closer to the edge of the aisle.

A loud bark pierced the air. Kei turned around sharply and swung her sword around, listening to it clash against a long slab of metal. The dark haired girl held her sword firmly as her attacker pressed down with his weapon, a battle of strength ensuing between the two survivors. Kei looked at the attacker’s weapon. It was a long metal staff, clearly worn with time and splattered at the edges with dried blood. The living enemy lifted his staff and swiftly swung it around to her legs, only to miss as Kei leaped back and swiftly swung her sword around. Her blade knocked into the survivor’s staff, the two of them pressing their weapons against each other once more. 

The dark haired girl looked at the [stranger](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=62380260). He was tall (about five-eleven, six foot) with slender legs hidden in weathered black chinos. He sported a dirty jean jacket with a metal pauldron strapped on his left shoulder. A beige scarf was wrapped around his neck and pulled up to cover half of his face. A pair of pilot’s goggles covered his eyes, and a slouchy black beanie covered his head.

“Back the hell off!” Kei grunted, pushing her sword forward to knock his staff away. They both held their weapons firmly and pointed them towards each other. Ren rushed up and barked furiously at the stranger, the man turned and pointed his staff at the wolf in defense. Kei noticed his fighting stance and recognized the way he held his weapon. If she didn’t know any better, she could swear that this man had experience in the Dojo, learning the art of _Bojutsu_.   
  
“Heel!” She heard the man hiss at the dog. Ren merely snarled and barked, making the man flinch in fear. Kei stepped forward and pointed the tip of her sword into his denim-clad back. The stranger froze up before lowering his weapon in defeat. He turned around slowly and faced the girl. Kei stared into the man’s goggle covered eyes intently.

“What are you doing here?” She heard the man‘s muffled voice ask out, “What do you want?!”

“I’m gathering supplies for my group,” She confessed, “We have a newborn, and she needs food to survive.”

She couldn’t see the man’s expression, but she furrowed at how silent he was.

“Where…where are you from?” He asked suddenly.

“You’re getting in my way,” She spoke bitterly, ignoring his strange question, “Leave.”

“You’re from Japan, aren’t you?” He asked.

“Just fuck off and get out of here, _now_ ,” She seethed, the tip of her sword inching up to his nose. The mysterious survivor held his hands up in defense.

“Easy now, easy,” He urged, “Your accent, it’s still thick. I can tell you’re from Japan.”

“What the hell does that matter?!” She asked out.

“It’s not every day that you run into your own kind,” He answered, “Let alone _living_ kind.”

“Will you just fucking go away?” She bit, “Leave! Or I’ll have my friend behind you rip off your leg.”

“Fine, fine,” He replied, his tone smug and full of amusement, “But if you’re looking for baby food, it’s not over here. It’s over by the pharmacy. They set up an emergency station for mothers with babies before they got overrun.”

He pressed one fingerless glove-clad hand to the side of her sword, slowly pushing away from his face. She held her weapon firmly to her side as he gripped his bo staff, reaching in back and sliding his weapon into the carrying case on his back. Ren snarled menacingly as she made her way past the stranger, her harsh golden eyes never leaving him as she stood loyally at Kei’s side. The male survivor smirked behind his scarf and bowed lightly to the girl out of respect.

“ _Sore wa_ _kōeideshita,”_ _  
(It was an honor.)_

Kei’s eyebrows knitted together as the survivor turned around and made his way out of the aisle, disappearing behind the corner. Her heart began to thump wildly in her chest. His voice, the way he spoke to her with that odd mix of Japanese (and a foreign twinge of English of somekind) in his accent. For a moment, he reminded her of…

“No,” She said to herself, shaking her head firmly, “Screw that guy…come on, Ren.”

The red wolf followed closely Kei’s side as they made it over to the Pharmacy. Sure enough, there was a big wide banner with the words EMERGENCY written in bold, red letters. Kei leapt over the counter and looked around, Ren standing guard on the other side.

Trash, pills, and clothes were littered all over the place. Two pharmacist walkers laid dead over in the corner. Kei held the handle of her sword as she walked over to the shelves. Most of the shelves had been emptied out, but she managed to find a bottle of gummy vitamins. She went over to the next shelf and found two plastic bottles, a small bowl with Rapunzel on it, and a spoon small enough for a baby. She walked over to the next shelf and checked the bottom, her eyes widening as the sight of the Gerber baby logo. 2 boxes of baby oatmeal and 1 box of Gerber rice with apples. She grabbed at the food with an excited smile and stuffed it into her backpack.

After scrounging the shelves, she couldn’t find one single can of powdered formula. She had checked and checked a million times over, and there were none to be found. She swore and kicked a shelf in frustration. She needed formula! She ran a hand through her hair and paced around in thought. Maybe she could travel further out and find a superstore. But she had promised Daryl that she’d only go to Target and come back. Well maybe Daryl wouldn’t find out. Well what if he did? The baby needed formula though, and quick. Who knew if Daryl and Maggie were going to come back with anything. What if they didn’t?

She shook her head. If she knew Daryl, then he would do whatever it took to find formula. He would deliver. She knew he would.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and leapt back over the counter, picking up her duffle bag and walking over to the Men’s clothing section. To her surprise, a decent amount of clothing was still there. She picked up more underwear and shirts for the men, trying her hardest to pick out clothing suitable for survival rather than what would look good and trendy on them. After shoving the clothing in her duffle, she walked over to the women’s section and picked out some underwear and clothes for girls. The bras were a bit more difficult since all of them varied in size, so she stuck mostly to panties. She picked out a nice yellow sundress of Beth, and a couple head scarves for Carol. She then grabbed a pair skinny jeans and some socks for Maggie.

Once that was done, she zipped up her duffle and quickly made her way to the exit, Ren trotting closely beside her. She looked out towards her bike and saw a couple walker’s staggering around a couple feet away. She looked down to Ren and whistled, jerking her head out towards the parking lot.

The Red Wolf leapt through the broken glass door and darted out into the parking lot. She barked her head off and instantly grabbed the undead couple’s attention. The two creatures reached out with their bony arms and limped after the living piece of meat. As Ren lead them on a wild goose chase, Kei quickly rushed out and strapped her duffle on the back. She swung one leg over her bike and got out her keys, sticking them in the ignition and turning the bike on. She kicked back the kickstand and revved the engine, pushing forward with her feet and speeding down the parking lot. She drove her way around and sped past Ren and the two walkers. The red wolf tossed her plans of distraction and followed after her master out on the road. 

 

When Kei had returned back to the cellblock, she had found that Daryl and Maggie weren’t back yet. The baby was still wailing her eyes out, and (to her dismay) Hershel said the baby wouldn’t be able to eat the rice or oatmeal she had found. All she could do was try to hold the baby and calm her down. All she could do was hope that Maggie and Daryl would deliver.

 Night had fallen over the prison. The baby had only let up for a couple hours before starting back up again. It was breaking Beth and Kei’s heart, seeing this little helpless baby starving like this. The little newborn cried and cried her eyes out, squirming in Carl’s arms.

“Beth!” She heard a familiar voice call out. Kei looked to the cellblock door and saw Maggie and Daryl rush through. She couldn’t help but let out an audible “Thank God” when she saw Maggie open up her bag. She dumped out two cans of powdered formula, some cloth diapers, and an empty baby bottle. Kei rushed over with her canteen and helped Maggie prepare a bottle. Meanwhile, Daryl made a beeline for the baby.

“How’s she doin’?” He asked quietly as he tossed off his poncho and set down his crossbow. The baby seemed to wail even louder in response, wanting nothing more than to be fed. Daryl reached out and gently let out a ‘shhhh’, carefully taking the infant into his arms. As Kei shook up the bottle of formula and water, she couldn’t help but notice the baby starting to ease up on her crying. She still whimpered and gurgled, but she was no longer wailing in complete agony like before.

Kei quickly handed Beth the bottle, and the blonde handed it over to Daryl. The hunter shifted the bottle in his hand and quickly put the end to the baby’s mouth. The baby didn’t accept it right away, still whimpering and sniveling into Daryl’s arms. The hunter gently cooed and shushed her, bouncing her lightly in his arms as he tried to get her to take the bottle.

“Come on,” He cooed, “Come on…”

The baby finally opened her tiny mouth accepted the end of the bottle. Formula started to fill her little tummy and her crying ceased instantly. Everyone seemed to let out a silent sigh of relief as they watched the newborn happily feed away. The tension in the air seemed to diminish as they each reveled in the sight of Daryl holding something as precious and innocent as an infant. A smile couldn’t help but form on Kei’s face as Daryl held the baby close. He looked around with such a childlike grin on his face, it made her heart flutter. Who knew that sitting there in silence, watching a tough guy like Daryl cradle a newborn baby would bring such peace and content?

“She got a name yet?” Daryl asked, looking over to Carl. The young boy’s smile suddenly faltered as he looked to the baby, slightly cocking his head in thought.

“N-Not yet,” He answered, staring at his new little sister, “I was thinking…maybe Sophia? There’s Carol too…”

The thought of the woman with the short hair suddenly flashed across Kei’s mind. Her heart dropped a little. She had completely forgotten…Carol didn’t make it.

She listened as Carl let out a shaky sigh.

“There’s also Andrea, Amy, Jacqui, Patricia, or…” Carl paused briefly before looking away, “Um…Lori, I don’t know…”

Everyone continued to remain silent. Kei looked around to each member of the group and could see it on their faces. They were remembering all those they had lost. Seeing everyone with their solemn faces only reminded her that the dark cloud was still there. It was still hanging over them. It had never left. Carol was gone, as was Sophia. Dale was gone, so was Andrea, Patricia, Shane, T-Dog, and even Lori.

Kei looked over to Daryl and watched as his eyes traveled down to the baby in his arms. His lips formed a little smile as he held her up a little.

“Yeah, you like that?” He gushed, “Huh? Lil Ass Kicker?”

Kei’s eyebrows instantly raised as he looked to everyone in the group. She along with everyone else let out a small laugh.

“Right? That’s a good name, right?” He asked, smiling down at the little girl, “Little Ass Kicker. You like that, huh? You like that sweetheart?”

“It's a fine name,” Oscar replied with a smile.

“Better than any name out there,” Beth chirped, everyone nodding in agreement.

“Any other name would be for a secretary,” Kei joked, watching as the baby continued to feed away, “Little Ass Kicker is a superhero.”


	27. Hounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We'll be back," She promised, smiling as she brushed past him, "And I dibs holding Little Ass Kicker when I get back!"
> 
> "We'll see," He called out, watching as she ran for the Chevy, "She might be in my arms by then. And you ain't takin her!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello little darlings!  
> I just wanted to say thank you to all who have left Kudos on this site. You guys are so sweet!  
> And thank you Ekhi dear for commenting on my story, seriously, they give me the biggest of boosts and really help my day. You're so kind, I could just hug you! ^.^
> 
> 1MONTH and 1 DAY until THE WALKING DEAD RETURNS. WOOO!! PARTY AT MY PLACE.

After Little Ass Kicker was fed and burped, Carl took her back to her new cell with Ren and Ame following suit. The two wolves naturally took it upon themselves to be second parents to the newborn, keeping a watchful eye on her as she slept with Carl in a makeshift crib of a laundry basket, blankets, and pillows. Rick still hadn’t returned, but Glenn had told everyone about his manic state and encouraged everyone to let him be. Truth be told, he was dangerous, and anyone could get hurt if they approached him while he was like this. He was acting out in pure unfiltered anger right now. He had managed to clear a whole block with just an axe.

“How was your run?” Daryl asked, watching from the bed as Kei kicked off her boots.

“Fine,” She answered simply with a sigh, “I grabbed some clothes for everyone, a couple boxes of baby food, some vitamins…”

The Japanese survivor she had encountered flashed across her memory. The way he fought, how he sounded when he spoke to her…

“I ran into someone there,” She remarked, “Another survivor.”

“What?” She heard Daryl ask out, “Did they hurt ya?” 

She turned around and saw Daryl sitting straight up, eyes no longer sleepy, but open and at attention.

“Did they follow you here?”

“No, and no,” She answered, stifling a small giggle as she walked over to the bed. “It was one guy, and he left. Shortly after he told me where the baby food was. It was…weird.”

She plopped down onto the mattress with a sigh and looked over to the hunter. His knitted eyebrows and stern expression said it all. He wasn’t convinced just yet.

“Daryl,” She sighed, the corner of her mouth raising up as she scooted closer to him, “I’m fine.”

She leaned in and gave him a small and reassuring kiss, reaching over and gingerly cupping his dirty cheek. Daryl broke away and looked down at the mattress, chewing on the inside of his lip.

“I know,” He muttered, “I just don’ want ya to get hurt.”

The girl gave him a faint smile and shook her head, leaning in to kiss him once more. As their lips touched, she felt Daryl’s hand gently cup the back of her head. He pulled her to him and held her close, shifting their bodies so that they could face each other comfortably. With their lips barely attached, Kei pushed her body forward and scooted up to straddle his lap. Her hands reached down and gripped onto Daryl’s, sliding them up the sides of her jean-clad thighs and placing them on her hips. She cupped his cheeks once more and parted her mouth, deepening the kiss between them as the tip of her tongue gently prodded at his own. Kei’s hands shifted from his whiskery cheeks up to his warm and damp hair. Her fingers gently brushed against his scalp and toyed with his roots, sending a euphoric and tingling sensation down the hunter’s spine. She left little kisses on his top lip before kissing his bottom lip and taking it between her teeth. She gently nibbled and tugged it back before letting go, watching it spring back into place. 

“Don’t do that,” Daryl rasped.

“Do what?” She asked innocently. She batted her eyelashes at him, trying look as innocent and naive as possible. Daryl merely eyed her sternly, the warning look on his face making the girl smile mischievously. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gently nudged him, getting him to lay down flat on the mattress. She leaned down and gave him another kiss as she laid down and gently pressed her body against his. She wrapped one arm protectively around Daryl’s head as he reached up and placed a hand in her hair. She kept her free hand on his cheek as he pulled her head down to his. Their lips brushed momentarily before she pulled back and looked down at him. 

Daryl looked up at her, his eyes searching hers in slight confusion on why she stopped. She looked down at him, her expression suddenly unsure as she gently ran her thumb over his bottom lip. He gently kissed the calloused pad, his eyes never leaving hers.  
  
“We're gonna be okay,” She uttered quietly, "You, me, Little Ass Kicker, everyone. Right?"   


He stared up at her sudden pained expression and could see an echo of horror reflected in her eyes. It was almost the same look she had when she tried wiping the blood off her arms. 

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to his body, feeling her heart pattering against his chest. He kissed the side of her head and held her there as he whispered, "Right," in her ear.

 

The next morning, the group held a service for Lori, T-Dog, and Carol. Glenn, Oscar, and Axel had dug the graves over on the far side of the prison courtyard. Carl and Hershel had built funeral crosses and planted them at each grave while [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=67589549) and Beth collected stones and flowers. Hershel held a nice service while Kei held Carl to her side. The young boy sniffled as he held his little sister in arms. She was sound asleep, and now well fed thanks to Daryl and Maggie. Kei looked up from the dirt mounds and looked around her. Rick was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, she hadn’t seen the distraught man at all. Not since yesterday.

After the service, Kei helped Maggie prepare several bowls of corn and tuna for everyone. Daryl and Oscar ate by the steps while everyone else crowded around the table. Maggie and Glenn sat close together, letting Kei squeeze in next to Beth and sit straight across from Carl. The room was quiet, minus the sound of spoons scraping and the semi-silent chewing coming from each member as they ate. 

Daryl looked over and noticed that Carl wasn’t eating. He hadn’t touched his meal, nor had Kei. They merely stared at their bowls before looking over at each other, the same grim expression on both their faces. 

“Everybody okay?” A familiar male voice asked out. Everyone turned and watched as Rick opened the barred door and walked inside. He had cleaned up nicely with fresh clothes, clean skin, and groomed hair. He almost looked like his usual self if it weren’t for the pained expression on his face.

"Yeah, we are," Maggie answered softly. The group fell silent again, listening to the sound of his boots hitting the concrete floor as he walked across. He stopped in front of Carl, the two of them looking directly at each other. Neither of them uttered a word.

"What about you?" Hershel asked, breaking the silence as he looked Rick over. The leader took a second and ignored Hershel's question.

"Cleared out the boiler block." He announced, turning his head away. His head may have been pointed in Carl's direction, but his eyes were glued to the floor. Ame was resting at Carl's side looking up at Rick. If the leader didn't know any better, he could've sworn he saw a sorrowful look on the gray wolf's face. 

"How many were there?" Daryl's raspy voice inquired, bringing Rick back to the tense conversation.

"I don't know… dozen… two dozen,” He answered quickly, "I have to get back…" 

Kei's eyebrows knitted together slightly. He was hiding something.

"...Just wanted to check on Carl," He continued as he patted his son's back. The leader turned around sharply and started to walk back, not bothering to acknowledge the group's newest little addition currently sleeping in Beth's arms.

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies," Glenn spoke out as he stood from his seat, "Okay? You don't have to."

"No I do," Rick insisted, looking away from the guy as he walked over to Daryl, "Does everyone have a gun and a knife?"

"Yeah," Daryl answered, "A little low on ammo though."

"Maggie and I were planning on making a run this afternoon," Glenn announced, "Kei too. We found a phone book. There's some places we can look for bullets and formula."

"We cleared out the generator room," Daryl added, "Axel's there tryin' to fix it… case of emergency. We wanna sweep the lower levels as well."

"Good, good," Rick muttered with a nod of approval. Without another word he turned on his heel and started walking back. Everyone watched as he strode across and exited the cell block once more.

"Rick!" Hershel called out. His voice was cut short by the sound of the cellblock door creaking shut.

 

Kei walked out into the courtyard, pulling her hair up into a small bun and keeping it place with her grandmother’s [kanzashi](http://www.japonic.com/japanese-art/k088/maiko-kanzashi088a.jpg). It was a long and slender metal hairpin, with jeweled flowers and dangling charms at the end. It was her grandmother’s when she was just a _maiko_ , an apprentice geisha, and she had given it to Kei the Christmas before the world had ended. The girl had treasured it ever since.

Glenn and Maggie were getting ready up ahead. They were preparing the chevy and their weapons. Carl was sitting on the ground a few feet away, watching them with Ame sitting loyally at his side. The young boy ran his dirtied hands through Ame’s fur, his head titled down towards the pavement. Kei’s lips twisted to the side, looking to the ground before stepping out and walking towards the sad boy. She took a seat next to him with a sigh, placing her wakizashi and katana in her lap. She watched him as he continued to look down at the ground, his lips pursed together. She could tell he was hurting right now. He was devastated.

Her eyes fell over to the grey wolf at the boy's side. Ame didn't move an inch. He just rested by Carl's side and whimpered lightly through his nose. Kei could tell he was sad too, and that made her lips twist to the side in thought.

"I wonder when mating season is for them," She mused, attempting to draw the boy's mind away for a minute, "It'd be pretty cool if we had some wolf puppies running around."

She looked down and saw Carl run a hand across Ame's fur.

"It'd...be pretty cool if we had a our own pack," He mumbled, the pain and struggle still clear in his voice. Carl lifted his head up slightly and looked at her. She turned her head and looked at him. His big blue eyes looked at her with such sadness, it almost made the girl's heart ache. He was trying so hard to keep it all in, to keep from crying, to hold back what he felt was weakness. She scooted closer to him and placed a hand on his back in comfort.

"It's okay to cry, you know," She remarked, watching as he slowly looked away, "I cried too when I had to..."

He turned his head and looked back at her again, watching as she took a deep breath and let it through her nose.

"I had to do the same to my family," She confessed, "All of them. My parents, grandparents, my...my little sister. Some had gotten bit, some scratched. They were all alive when I did it."

She looked down at her sword and swallowed lightly before looking to Carl.

"I‘m sorry about your mother," She replied honestly, "No one should ever have to go through that, and I’m sorry..." 

She listened as Carl sniffled and wiped his nose with his arm. She could see a couple tear drops falling from his cheeks and landing on his dark and dirty jeans. She took hold of her wakizashi and slid it over, placing it in his lap. The boy stared at it for only a moment before sharply turning his head to her with widened eyes. 

"I want you to have this," She spoke out, giving him a faint smile, "If you want, we can train again when I get back. It might help."

He didn't answer for a good 30 seconds or so. He merely sniffled and tried his best to keep the tears from falling. However, it was no use. They just kept coming, and he just kept wiping them away as fast as they came.

"I'd...I'd like that..." He stammered.

She looked at him with a nod and smiled lightly. She leaned over and hugged him, pulling him closer as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She pressed her lips to the side of his head and placed a quick kiss there before closing her eyes.

"I want you to know that I'm proud of you, Carl," She muttered into the side of his head, “You've grown to be so strong, and so brave since I last saw you. You've embodied everything I had taught you in that brief moment of time, and I'm so proud of you. And I know that your mother is too..." 

"...Thank you," He spoke, sniffling as more tears began to spill from his eyes. Kei unwrapped her arms from around him and leaned back, placing her hands on his wet, freckled cheeks. She gave him the warmest of smiles and rubbed the tears away with her thumbs. He let out a laugh and wiped his eyes, sniffing deeply before coughing and clearing his throat. 

"Carl," Daryl's voice called from behind them. The two turned around and watched as Daryl approached them with his crossbow slung over his shoulder. Ame stood up at an instant and started wagging his tail in excitement.

"Wanna help Oscar and I sweep the lower levels? You can bring Ame too." 

Carl turned and looked down to the weapon in his lap before looking back up towards the hunter.

"Sure," 

Daryl nodded and watched as he got up off the ground, gripping Kei's short sword firmly as he turned and looked down at Kei. He nodded to her briefly before turning back, moving forward and heading towards the cellblock with Ame following suit. Daryl watched the two momentarily before turning his attention back to Kei. She got up off the ground and shouldered her Katana, walking forward and meeting Daryl halfway with a weary smile. 

"Guess I should go," She announced. Daryl gave her a small nod, 

"Be safe, alright?" 

"I will," She chirped, nodding as she started to walk past him. She had only made it a foot or so before a calloused hand suddenly took hold her arm. Daryl held her there and gently tugged her back.

"Kei," He uttered firmly, staring at her confused expression, "I mean it...be safe. All three of ya." 

Her eyes traveled to his jaw. She saw it bob slightly. He was anxious.

"Daryl," She uttered softly, looking up at his eyes, "I'll be fine, I promise." 

She only saw it for a moment, and had she blinked she would've missed it. For a second he actually looked lost, almost helpless even, like a child would. It was something he had grown up with. It wasn't something as visible as a scar, but it was just as permanent. It was something that branded him at childhood and stuck with him ever since. It was the fear: the fear of being abandoned, of being alone, of losing someone close to him. It was this little voice, small but just as powerful, telling him that she wouldn't make it. She wouldn't come back. Something would happen, and he would lose her on this run. 

She watched as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. His grip had loosened, but he still looked at her with a hard yet concerned look on his face. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. This kiss wasn't small and chaste. This kiss, even though neither of them moved, was passionate in a way. It was reassuring. It was a wordless promise that everything would be okay, and that she'd be back in no time at all. 

She pulled away slowly and looked at him, giving him a toothy grin that he'd come to grow really fond of. 

"We'll be back," She promised, smiling as she brushed past him, "And I dibs holding Little Ass Kicker when i get back!"

"We'll see," He called out, watching as she ran for the Chevy, "She might be in my arms by then. And you ain't takin her!"

Kei opened up the back seat door and turned towards the hunter, giving him a small wave before leaping inside. He watched with a crooked smile as Oscar and Axel opened up the gates and the Chevy sped through. He kept mentally telling himself over and over that all three would be back safe and sound. There was nothing to worry about. They were all smart, and they were all good at taking out Walkers. There was nothing to worry about.

And yet, despite his thoughts, he still couldn't get rid of the sickly feeling inside his stomach.

 

“Clear outside,” Kei announced, looking around the empty parking lot. Maggie scouted the other side and announced that it was clear as well, the two of them meeting up with Glenn just outside the door of the abandoned market. Glenn held out his hand with a smile and took hold of Maggie’s. He looked to the two girls and nodded towards the store.

“Alright, let’s take a look,” 

“Hey,” Maggie called, holding Glenn’s hand and stopping him briefly. He turned to ask her what was wrong, but instead he was met with a small kiss from his girlfriend. Kei couldn’t help but smile lightly as Glenn gently cupped the back of Maggie’s head and placed another loving kiss on her lips. 

She then noticed something suddenly shift out of the corner of her eye. 

She turned her head and looked over at an abandoned car several feet away. Something was off. She stared at the dirty crusted windows. She couldn’t tell from this distance, but it looked like something was over there, watching the three of them intently. She gripped her sword and turned on her heels, walking cautiously towards the abandoned SUV. As she carefully made her way to the car, her mind tried to figure out what it could be. It wasn’t a walker that was over there, that was for sure. A walker was loud, and it would’ve staggered out and tried to rip their faces off by now. It wasn’t an animal, no animal around here was big enough to look through a window that high. That could only mean one thing. 

Her attention was immediately torn away when she heard Maggie yelp. She turned around sharply and saw a bunch of pigeons scatter about. They flew out of the market door Glenn had just opened. Maggie was hunched over, covering her head momentarily before she looked up and stood straight again. Kei rushed over and stood at Maggie’s side, looking towards the dark entrance. Glenn took a deep breath through his nose and turned on his flashlight, cautiously stepping inside to start looking around. Maggie and Kei turned on their flashlights as well, looking to each other before looking back at the grocery store entrance. Kei stepped forward and started making her way inside, swiping away cobwebs as she went along.

“Kei, get that duck!” 

The dark haired girl immediately looked to the floor, fully expecting to see a living animal waddling about. She pointed her flashlight around before turning to look back at Maggie in confusion.

“What?”

“Get that duck,” She repeated with a giggle. She pointed her flashlight past Kei’s body and over to a small toy rack a couple feet away. Sure enough there was a little a toy duck, just laying there all by its lonesome.

“Are you serious?” Glenn asked from the produce section, laughing lightly.

“Yeah,” Maggie chirped, “A kid growin' up in a prison could use some toys.” 

Kei turned back around and grabbed the toy. While Glenn covered the back, Kei took the front and grabbed whatever she could find on the floors and shelves. She managed to find a bottle of baby shampoo, a couple cans powdered formula, four bars of delicious smelling body soaps, and a pacifier. 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=67630361) came back out with her findings and stood watch with Maggie, the two of them watching the road mostly for any wandering walkers.

“Ladies!” Glenn called out from the inside of the supermarket, “We just hit the powdered formula jackpot!”

Both girls let out huge sighs of relief and looked to each other with smiles on their faces.

“Thank God,” Maggie breathed, turning around to watch as Glenn walked out with a big basket. A smile brighter than the sun was on his face as he showed the girls his findings.

“I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, mini mustards,” He informed, “It’s a straight shot to the prison from here, we might actually make it back in time for dinner.” 

Kei picked up her basket with a satisfied smile and brought it over to the Chevy. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad day after all. She handed her basket to Glenn and turned to take Maggie’s basket.

“I like the quiet,” Maggie spoke as she handed it over, “Back there, back home, you can always hear my side of the fence no matter where you are.”

Both Glenn and Kei looked to Maggie with crooked half smiles. The dark haired boy reached over to take the basket when an unfamiliar voice spoke out from nowhere.

“And where is it y’all good people callin home?!”

Maggie and Kei turned around sharply, pulling out their guns and holding them forward without hesitation. Glenn dropped the basket and pulled out his gun as well, looking over to the stranger with wide eyes. 

He was a tall man with long, broad shoulders and a square jaw. He matched his voice to the letter, his looks the solid manifestation of his deep, throaty tone. He probably drove a motorcycle and believed that women belonged in only two places inside the house. He was a good old boy, rough around the edges, and probably inside to the very core as well. If his sweaty wife beater, broken nose, and the hand-blade attachment on his right arm was anything to go by, he was a force to be reckoned with.

“M...Merle?” Glenn asked, his voice shaking slightly in the process. Kei and Maggie looked to the boy. Maggie looked confused, while Kei on the other hand was secretly just as surprised and shocked as Glenn. The man with the bloodied nose looked at Glenn before his eyes went wide and a giant smile stretched across his face. He slowly held his gun out and placed it on the ground as he laughed out in amusement.

“Ha! Ohohooo!” He let out, setting his pistol down with his one good hand, “Wooow!” 

He stood up straight and raised his arms in defense. He began to rush forward, which made Kei and Maggie raise their weapons once more.

“Hey back the hell up!!” Maggie barked. 

“Ho woah woah! Okay honey!” Merle called, clearly unphased by her, “Jeeeesus.”

“You made it,” Glenn breathed, looking him over to make sure he was in fact real.

“Can you tell me, is my brother alive?” Merle asked, disregarding the boy’s last statement.

Glenn hesitated for a moment, re-gripping his gun and finally nodding his head.

“Yeah,”

Kei watched as the man grinned even more and let out an audible huff of relief.

“Ay,” The man spoke out, “You uh, take me to him, and I’ll call it even on everythin' that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelin’s.”

Glenn looked over to Merle’s right hand. Or rather lack of one. In its place was a metal contraption that ran up his arm. At the end of it was a shiny bayonet, dirty and flecked with blood. Merle noticed his stare and looked at his appendage, smiling with pride like he was showing off a new car or a bike.

“You like that, huh? Yeaaaah, I found myself a-uh…medical supply warehouse, fixed it up myself. Pretty cool, huh?”

Kei looked Daryl’s brother up and down. He looked well-fed, with skin and hair that was a lot cleaner than the three of them combined. He definitely didn't look like he'd been out on his own this entire time. He was staying somewhere. Somewhere nearby and well-off.

“We’ll tell Daryl you’re here, and he’ll come out to meet you,” Glenn announced. Merle’s eyes widened and he stepped forward once more,

“Oh w-w-whoa, just hold on, just—”

“Whoa! Whoa!” Glenn shouted, holding one hand out at him as he took a few steps back. Kei kept her eyes soley on the center of his chest, her finger ready and willing on the trigger.

“Hold up here! Hold up!” Merle yelped, holding out his arms in desperation, “Ey, the fact that we found each other is a _miracle._ Come now, you can trust me.”

“The guy who busted your nose didn’t,” Kei sassed, noticing the blood that trickled from the bridge of Merle’s nose. Unless Walkers suddenly knew how to box, that injury he was sporting was man made. The older Dixon brother eyed the girl briefly, sizing her up as Glenn looked at him firmly.

“You trust _us_ ,” He demanded, “You stay here.” 

Merle’s face completely changed. He went from desperate to dark and animal-like within a split second. Before Kei even had time to react, the man scoffed and took a sharp breath through his nose. He charged forward, letting out a cry as reached in back of his pants and pulled out a gun. Maggie let out a yelp as he pulled it forward and let off a shot. Kei jumped out of the way as the Chevy’s back window shattered, falling to the ground with a painful thud. She pulled her gun forward and was about to point and fire when a large, muddy boot kicked it out of her hands. She watched only for a second as the gun flew from her grasp, and before she could move, she had a bloody knife to her throat. She sat up slowly, pressing her back against the side of the tire. She watched Daryl’s brother as he knelt down in front of her. He had managed to juggle the task of keeping one strong arm wrapped around Maggie’s neck, the gun in his hand pointed to her thigh while his other arm kept the knife pointed to Kei’s throat. Glenn rushed back around with his gun out, his eyes wide as he pointed it to Merle’s head.

“Hey hey! Hold up buddy, hold up!” Merle whooped, pressing his knife closer into Kei’s throat.

“Let go of them!” Glenn yelled, “LET GO OF THEM!!”

“Put that gun in the car right now,” Merle demanded through clenched teeth, “Put it in the car, son!”

The boy only stood firmly for a couple seconds before he caved. He cautiously walked over to the back and threw his gun through broken window. He kept his eyes on Maggie the entire time.

“Now you, little princess,” Merle demanded while looking to Kei, “Take that pig sticker a’yers and toss it.”

Kei glared daggers at the man as she leaned forward, sliding her katana off her shoulders and handing it to Glenn. The boy took it and put it in the back with his gun, holding his hands back up in defense as the man held Maggie even closer.

“There you go,” He hissed, “Now we’re gonna go for a little drive.” 

“We’re not going back to our camp,” Glenn stated firmly.

“No,” Merle hissed as he struggled to get up with Maggie, “We’re goin’ somewhere else.” 

He managed to get up onto his feet, keeping his weapons pointed at the two girls.

“GET IN THE CAR, GLENN!” He barked, “YOU’RE DRIVIN’, MOVE!” 

“Don’t!” Glenn begged, holding his hand out and taking a deep breath, “Okay…”

He walked over to the other side of the chevy and slammed the door shut, forgetting about the basket beside his feet. He made his way over to the driver’s side, and that’s when Merle looked to Kei.

“You next, sweetheart,” He jeered, his head pointed to the door in back of her, “Go on now! Go on!”

Kei gave him a death glare as she slowly stood up off the ground. She carefully opened the door and made her way into the back seat, letting out an ’Oomph!’ as a body smacked into her from behind. Merle had tossed Maggie inside and slammed the door shut. He opened up the passenger seat and slipped inside, keeping his gun pointed to the side of Glenn’s head. Kei looked out the window as Glenn started the car and they began to move. She noticed movement over by the empty cars. 

A slender woman with dark skin and long braids peered out from behind the black mini van. 

Kei only smirked. 

There was someone there after all.

 

Merle walked up to the apartment; a combination of a home/headquarters for his leader. His "Governor", as he came to be called.  He walked up the door, muttering under his breath, reciting what he had rehearsed over and over since he drove through Woodbury's gates. Tell him the girl's gone, and that he has something else in her stead. 

He knocked on the door and waited. Not a sound. He knocked on it again, this time a little harder. He knew he was inside. He was always inside, doing god-knows-what with god-knows-who.

He could hear muttering, then footsteps, and then the lock twisting. He watched as the door swung open and a lean man (with an annoyed look and a bathrobe on) stood in front of him. His brown hair was a mess and his eyes were drooped with fatigue. Whatever (or whoever) he was doing had really wiped him out.

"Company?" Merle asked, raising his brows at his leader. The Governor just stepped forward and shut the door quietly behind him.

"...Yeah," He said simply, guiding Merle away from the door to talk a little more in private. He leaned onto the brick wall and looked over to his right-hand-man expectantly, waiting to hear good news about a woman with a Katana getting captured.

“...We lost all three guys,” Merle announced, watching as his leader's expression faltered, “Tim, Crawley, and the other one.”

“Gargulio,” The Governor specified, shaking his head with an exhasperated sigh, “Jesus…”

“Yeaaahh she cut Tim down, put a sword through him,” The older Dixon went on, “Then, biters got in the middle of it, and I got her.”

“Damn,” The Governor looked to the floor in thought before looking back up at Merle, “Well..We’ll dress it up, give them a hero’s funeral. You tell a story, a supply run gone sideways…do you have em?”

Merle cocked his slightly, knitting his eyebrows together.

“Her head, the sword…” The leader specified. He watched as Merle pursed his lips and looked to the floor for a second.

“We got caught in a crowd,” He admitted, “Kid had the head, Crawley had the sword. They both got all torn up.” 

He watched The Governor’s face as it faltered and shifted expressions. He didn’t look so disappointed anymore. He looked angry. The older Dixon knew though that his next bit of news would really sweeten things up.

“I got somethin’ else for ya though,” He spoke, the corner of his mouth perking up into a smirk, “A guy I used to know in the Atlanta camp and his pretty lil girlfriend.” 

This seemed to grab the Governor’s attention. He looked to Merle intently, his eyes squinting only slightly.

“They know Andrea?” He inquired, watching as Merle nodded his head.

“Anyone else?” He asked further.

“Pretty little Asian girl was with ’em too,” Merle answered, “No idea if she knows Andrea. She don’t look like much though; weak, underfed, prolly hasn’t eaten in days. I found ‘em all on the return trip. From the looks of Glenn and his girl, they gotta be set up pretty good…I’ll find out where.” 


	28. When The Dead Come Knocking pt. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay,” She heard Maggie say as she took in a deep breath, “Okay...”
> 
> “Right,” Kei pressed, “Keep a level head, and don’t tell them anything.”

He waited once more in the musty boiler room. He didn’t know for how long. All he knew was that the phone worked, and people had been calling all morning. Somewhere out there were living people, and they were stationed somewhere safe. He’d been trying all morning to convince them, trying to get them to let him and his group in the fold. But they were being vague with their whereabouts, and started to ask a bunch of personal questions about him and what he‘s done. They had every right, after all he would’ve done the same. However, the more Rick answered honestly, the more he realized just how much of a threat he was beginning to sound. He had killed four living people, one of them was in his own group. One of the mystery members, a male, had asked what happened to his wife. He didn’t have the heart to tell the man. Hell, he didn’t have the heart to tell _himself_ yet.

And then the phone rang.

Rick’s heart thumped in his chest, his stomach dropped as he looked over at the dusty contraption. The phone rang again. The leader licked his chapped lips and stepped forward, walking over to the desk and picking up the phone.

He put it to his ear.

A bad connection this time. He could only hear static.

“How did you know my name…” He asked, recalling how the previous caller had spoken to him by name. He heard breathing.

“ _Because we know you_ ,” The voice answered. It was soft, reassuring, and familiar. All too familiar.

His heart began to pound louder, his knees growing weak.

“How do you know me…”

“… _And you know them, Rick,_ ” The voice finished, “ _The peop—you were talkin to today was Amy, Jim, Jacqui…_ ”

“Lori,” The leader breathed, his voice shaking slightly. He started to feel light headed and faint. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, his eyes screwing shut in the process. The connection was getting worse. The sounds of crackling and beeping was getting louder on the phone.

“Lori,” He called once more, his stomach tightening at the mention of her name. His throat burned, and tears were beginning to form in his eyes once more. His legs were begging to go numb again. He couldn’t stand for another minute. He fell to his knees, gripping onto the phone for dear life as tears began to spill down his cheeks.

“Lori…” His voice choked out, “Lori…Lori…”

He broke into a quiet sob on the floor, listening to the crackling of static.

“ _What happened Rick?”_ His wife's haunting voice breathed just above a whisper, “ _Baby, what happened?”_

Rick let the phone fall from his ear momentarily before he pressed it back. He began to stammer as he tried to hold his sobs back as best he could.

“I-I loved you,” He breathed, putting a hand to his warm forehead, “I loved you…”

He took a deep shaking breath, trying to compose himself as he wiped his eyes.

“I couldn’t put it back together,” He admitted, his voice cracking slightly, “I couldn’t put it back together. I made a deal with myself; I would keep you alive, I would find a place, I would fix that, and then…”

He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat before continuing,

“I couldn’t open that door, I couldn’t risk it,” He confessed, “I was gonna keep you alive, Carl, the baby and then…I thought there’d be time…there’s never time…”

He paused and listened to the static on the other side of the line. He waited for her to say something, aynting, but no response.

“But I loved you,” He repeated, meaning every word from the bottom of his heart, “I loved—I love you.”

No response again.

“I couldn’t put it back together,” He stated once more, “I shoulda said it. I shoul—I shoulda said it…”

“ _R—ck, no—yo—listen to me,”_ She spoke, her distraught husband hanging on to her every word, _“Ya—ha—baby, our baby. –nd Carl. –nd—is…I love you…”_

Rick listened as her voice began to break up more and more over the phone. The static was increasing, her voice was fading out by the second.

“ _G—can-you-do that?”_ Her broken voice asked, _“—can y—do-o…Rick? R—ck?! –ck…R—ck…R—ck…”_

The man pulled the phone away from his ear. He closed his eyes as his wife’s voice crackled faded into nothing.

Lori was gone.

There was no mystery group.

It was all in his head.

The leader looked up at the ceiling, suddenly remembering something, the thought coming down on him like a ton of bricks.

The baby had survived.

She was alive, and she was back at the cellblock waiting for her dad.

 

 _Thumpthump. Thumpthump. thump thump_ …

Kei shut her eyes, trying to calm her heart. She tried to focus, blocking out all the noise as her mind began mapping out a plan. Two men guarded the door. Maggie was placed to her right, Glenn in the next room over. The men were all heavily armed, and probably fought dirty when the situation wasn’t in their favor. She had to tread carefully. These people were going to try and get the location of their camp from them. And they were going to do whatever was necessary to get it.

She just hoped the other two were ready to go through whatever they had to in order to keep their group safe.

“Maggie,” She called out, listening closely to the girl next door. The walls were shabby and extremely thin. She could hear Maggie’s harsh and shaky breaths.

“Kei,” She whispered out, “Kei, Gl-Glenn’s getting…Glenn—”

“Maggie!” The dark haired girl whispered sharply, “Maggie listen to me. Focus. I need you to be strong. These guys are going to do whatever they can to find where we're camped. They’re not here to make friends or take us in.”

When the girl next door didn’t respond, Kei went on to try and convince Maggie to stand firm.

“Remember how Merle looked when we first saw him,” She pressed, “Someone didn’t trust him either. Look at what he did to us. No one here can be trusted. They want to know where we’re camped so they can kill the others.”

She heard Maggie fall silent. Her shaky breathing had ceased. There wasn’t even a sniffle.

“Maggie, I need you stay with me,” Kei urged, “I’m gonna try to get us out of here, but you and Glenn have to try your hardest not to give up where we're camped. Okay?”

“…Okay,” Maggie breathed, sniffling lightly.

“Maggie, you can do this,” She urged, leaning closer to the wall as if she were right next to her ear, “You’re strong, and I know you can do this. Don’t give in, no matter what they do to you, or to me, or to Glenn. He‘s in the other room being strong for you, now you have to do the same. Alright?!”

“Okay,” She heard Maggie say as she took in a deep breath, “Okay...”

“Right,” Kei pressed, “Keep a level head, and don’t tell them anything.”

She sat up straight when she heard a door creak open. Her lips pursed together. She took a deep, calming breath through her nose. The door creaked shut. Pause. Boots slowly trumped across the ground, crushing the little bits of pebble and dirt below them. They grew louder as they approached closer to where she was seated, and then suddenly they stopped. She shifted in her seat, whimpering in her throat as she tugged at the rope binds on her wrist.

“H-Hello?” She asked, jutting her head about in desperation, “Hello!?”

She heard breathing. It was calm, steady, and light. He definitely wasn’t a walker, and it definitely wasn’t Merle. Merle was loud and proud. He would’ve had a knife to her throat by now. Whoever this guy was, he was watching her, trying to read her.

She shifted in her seat some more, swallowing deeply, jutting her head around. She sniffed the air. Cologne. It was earthy, musky, and strong. The corner of her mouth twitched a little. He was standing right next to her.

She felt a pair of fingers touch the back of her head and she froze up. Her blindfold shifted a little before it went lose and fell off into her lap. She blinked a few times, quickly taking in her surroundings like a sponge. Thin metal walls. Handmade. No windows. One metal table laid in front of her, a simple wooden chair stood right across. Only one door at the end, with a guy on the other side to guard.

She turned her head, taking a few shaky breaths as she looked up at her captor. A tall man, lean with a round face, brown hair that was light with graying edges and blue eyes. He stood with authority, like Rick did from time to time. He was the leader, the head of the group. Damn, she was hoping for someone weaker. If she were to take this guy out now, the three of them definitely wouldn’t get out of here alive.

Still, she had to figure him out.

She bit her bottom lip, looking up at him with fearful eyes.

“Please,” She begged, shifting around in her seat, “Please!”

The man noticed her discomfort, his eyes looking down at the rope tied around her wrists. He reached to his side and slide out a knife. He watched as she looked at it with wide eyes, shifting more as he stepped closer.

“Lemme get these off you,” He replied as he went behind her, “There’s no need to be shakin’ so bad, this was all just a big misunderstandin’.”

He took the knife and cut her wrists free. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he felt her freeze under his palm. He smirked. She was scared. This may be the one who would tell him all that he wanted to know.

He stepped past her and went back over to the spare seat on the other side of the table. He pulled the chair back and looked to her, watching as she rubbed her wrists.

“May I?” He asked, hinting towards the chair before him. The girl nodded lightly, cradling her wrists as he sat down. He watched her as she sniffled and looked to the floor, trying to avoid his intent stare.

“Like I said,” He spoke out, his voice strong yet smooth with a southern drawl, “This was all a big misunderstandin’. We’ll take you back to your people, and explain about Merle. You tell us where they are, and we’ll drive you there.”

“ _Watashi wa dare o motteinai_ ,” She spoke out, smiling on the inside as the man’s eyebrows knitted together.

“I…” He paused, shaking his head slightly as he leaned forward, “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“ _Watashi wa dare o motteinai_ ,” She repeated frantically, “ _Watashi wa shinai! Watashi wa chikau!_ ”

“Alright, alright!” He spoke out, trying his best to calm her down, “Easy now. Do you speak English?”

“ _Nani_?”

“English,” He repeated slowly, “ _English._ ”

She cocked her head to the side, furrowing her eyebrows together before shaking her head and slamming her hands on the table.

“ _Watashi ga yukō!!_ ” She cried out, making the man jump and hold his hands out.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” He exclaimed, holding his hands in defense, “Alright now! Alright! Easy…”

She eased up on her hysterics and took deep shaky breaths.

“Easy,” He soothed, taking deep breaths with her in attempts to calm her, “Easy…good. I see you don’t speak English, but we have someone in our group who might help. I’ll go get them, and you’ll stay here. Alright?”

“ _Nani?_ ” She asked, giving him one more confused look. He pointed at her, and then down at the table.

“You. Stay here. Okay? You. Stay here,” He then pointed to himself, “I will be right back.”

She pointed to herself.

“ _Taizai_ ,” She spoke, her accent dramatic and thicker than usual, “Steh heyah.”

“Yes, stay here!” He chirped, quickly getting out of his seat, “Stay.”

She nodded her head with a small, “Hai!” and watched as he slipped out the door. Once the door shut, she smirked to herself and quickly got up out of her seat. She rushed over to the wall and patted on it.

“Maggie!” She whispered out sharply, “Maggie are you alright?!”

“Yeah!” Maggie whispered back, “A-Are you okay? I heard yelling!”

“I’m fine,” The girl spoke, “Did Merle come to talk to you yet?”

“N-Not yet, but I heard Glenn yelling, I don’t know if he’s hurt or—”

“Maggie,” She interrupted, “Maggie keep a level head right now. The leader just came in and untied my ropes. Once this other guy comes in, I’ll take him out and I’ll go get Glenn, okay?”

“Wh-where’d the leader go?”

“He went out to get a translator. That’s not important!” She whispered, “Listen, stay strong okay? We’ll be out of here soon, I promise.”

She heard the door creak open and panic suddenly struck. She scrunched her face up and banged on the wall.

“ _Naze kami-sama! Naze! Naze!_ ” She cried out.

“Aye!” She heard a male voice call out, “ _Ochitsuite! Nanda!?_ ”

Her eyes widened the minute she heard him speak. That odd mix of japanese and a small twinge of an english accent. She turned around sharply and looked to the man in the door. It was the survivor from Target. Sure, she recognized the scarf and the goggles and the armor plate on the shoulder, but it was the face that had completely thrown her off.

It wasn’t just any man. It wasn’t even a stranger.

She knew him.

 

Big round eyes, chubby cheeks, and little wisps of light brown hair on her little round head. She gurgled and cooed lightly, fidgeting around in her daddy’s arms as he carried her across the courtyard. Rick looked down at her, still in amazement at how beautiful and precious his new daughter was. She was perfect. Just looking at her made his heart flutter about. A light smile appeared on his face as she let out a little sneeze through her nose. Carl walked closely beside his father, chuckling lightly as Hershel and Beth trailed behind them. The four of them strolled across the courtyard, giving the baby her second breath of fresh air since she arrived.

“She looks like you,” Rick remarked, looking over at his son fondly. Carl merely laughed, watching as the baby let out another small sneeze. Rick looked out to the edge of the prison and noticed something was slightly off. He cocked his head slightly and turned to Carl, carefully handing him the baby.

“You got her?” he asked, watching as Carl curled his arms around his baby sister. He cradled her and rocked her gently in his arms, giving his dad a small nod. Rick nodded as well and turned away, walking out of the cellblock’s courtyard and down the gravel path. He pulled his gun out and kept it at his side, eyeing the outside fence the entire time.

Something wasn’t right.

He noticed a small bunch of walkers stumbling forward and lining up along the fence. That wasn’t unusual to him. What was unusual was that one of these supposed “walkers” was carrying a bright red shopping basket. They weren’t only carrying a shopping basket either. This person carried along a regular rucksack, and a weapon as well. Rick furrowed at the figure and stepped up to the inside fence, watching as the person limped along and made their way up to the outside fence. He cocked his head at the figure, watching it watching him. The person on the other side didn’t claw and hiss at the fence like the other walkers on either side of them. This person just stared him, eyes wide as they put their hand up to the wire fence.

Rick blinked in disbelief.

This person, a female simply standing between seven walkers, was alive. She was tall, round faced, and athletically built with dark brown skin. Her long dreads were being pushed out of her eyes with a dirty headband. She was covered in bits of molded walker guts and blood, and she was carrying a basket full of formula and baby items.

 

“Sen,” Kei breathed, looking towards the lanky boy in complete shock. The [boy](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=62256522) in the doorway stepped forward and shut the door behind him. His dark eyes went wide. He only stood there for a moment before he took a step forward and rushed for the girl. She rushed forward as well, taking him into her arms and holding him tightly.  
  
“Keiko!” He breathed, holding her tight and burying his face into her hair, “Holy shit, it’s you! It was you all along!”

He pulled away and held onto her bony arms, looking over her to make sure she was alright. Kei did the same as well, looking at him up in down in disbelief. He was real this time. Her best friend in the entire world was actually standing before her.

“What’re you doing here?!” She whispered sharply, looking up into his big brown eyes.

“I-I found this place after Fort Benning got overrun,” He answered quickly, “Where the hell were you? I waited!”

“I-I tried, I really did, I—” She paused, taking a deep breath and looking to the floor. She looked up at her friend, “Sen, why are we here? What the hell do they want?!”

The door swung open once more, making the two turn to look at the figure in the doorway. The Governor walked in with an extra chair in his hands.

“She better?” He asked, setting the chair down next to Sen’s at the table. The tall Asian boy nodded to his leader, taking hold of Kei’s arm in the process.

“I calmed her down,” He announced, watching as the Governor took a seat down at the table. Kei eyed the man briefly before looking to her best friend. He looked down at her, his dark eyes firm and intent. He escorted her back to her seat and walked over to the spare chair. He sat down, placing himself in the middle between Kei and The Governor. Kei watched as the leader folded his large, calloused hands and looked over to Sen expectantly.

“Sen, mind tellin’ this fine woman here that we don’t intend to hurt her?” He asked, “Ask her what her name is first, if you please."

Sen nodded and turned to face Kei. He gave her a stern look, his eyes saying all that he needed to.

" _Onamaewa?_ " He asked, watching as Kei took in a shaky breath and held her arms. He smirked on the inside at her fearful look. He always told her that she should’ve been in theater.

"Keiko," She answered simply, looking to the table as if she were ashamed.

"Keiko," The Governor repeated, nodding his head as his eyes looked her over, "Let her know that this was just a huge misunderstanding, will you?"

Sen nodded, looking back to Kei with a light smile.

" _Karera wa anata o korosu tsumorida,_ "  
(They're going to kill you.)

Kei smiled back at him, nodding her head and looking to the Governor.

" _Wakatteruyo_ _._ "  
(I know.)

"She says she understands," The boy informed, earning a nod from the leader.

"Tell her, we just wanna know where her people are so she can get back," He instructed, looking to Kei with folded hands and a comforting smile. Kei looked over to Sen, watching as he looked to the leader before looking to her.

" _Doa no tokoro ni futari no otoko ga arimasu_ ," He spoke out, looking to Kei with a smile, " _Anata ga sorera o atsukau koto ga dekiru to omou?_ "  
(There are two men at the door, think you can take them?)

Kei shook her head, shrugging her shoulders in unison like she was confused.

" _Watashi wa anata ga_ _watashitoisshoni kite hoshī_ ,"  
(I want you to come with me.)

Sen looked at her expressionlessly, his face deadpan as he leaned back in his seat. The Governor looked to the boy intently, leaning forward in his own seat.

"What'd she say?" He inquired, his voice dripping with curiosity. Sen blinked a few times before turning to look at his leader.

"She said she has no one, that she's been on her own," He explained, "She doesn't know who those two people are in the other room."

"Well how'd she end up with them?" The Governor asked, his eyebrows knitting together. Sen nodded to him and turned to look at the dark haired girl once more.

" _Gomen'nasai, watashi wa dekimasen_ ,"  
(I'm sorry, I can't.)

" _Watashi wa doko ka anzen'na basho ni yaei shite imasu_ ," Kei answered, looking to her best friend with burning determination, " _Go sanka._ "  
(I'm camped somewhere safe. Join us.)

The corner of Sen's mouth perked upwards, but quickly fell when he turned to look at the Governor.

"She says they were in the store when she snuck in," He confessed.  
  
“Did they tell her anything?” The leader asked.

" _Dekinai_ ," Sen admitted, " _Watashi ga mama ni shita baai, wareware wa ryōhō shinu. Anata no ken wa dokodesu ka?_ "  
(I can't. If I leave, we both die. Where's your sword?)

“ _Turanku_ ,” She answered, shaking her head at the same time.  
(Trunk.)

“She says nothing,” Sen informed, looking to his leader before looking back at Kei. The girl opened up her mouth to speak, but stopped when she noticed the Governor’s warm expression suddenly went blank.

“Tell her, I don’t believe her,”

Sen looked to the Governor, watching the man’s blue eyes stare directly into Kei’s coal blacks.

“Sen, I want you to wait outside for a moment,” He spoke, his tone suddenly changing from warm to cold within seconds. His expression had changed completely. The warm and friendly Phillip Blake had left. The cold and reckless Governor had stepped in.

Sen knew what that meant, and it made his heart drop.

He looked to Kei once more before looking to his leader with a nod, sliding out of his seat and exiting without a word. As he shut the door, his heart began to race. This man was a lot smarter than he put off. He thought he had the guy fooled. In the eight months he had been with the guy, he could see there was something dark buried deep within him. After all, he grew up around people with dark secrets. From what he had heard from Tim and the others on the Research Team, The Governor was utterly two faced in certain areas, but three things remained constant: He was smart, ruthless, and he took things to the extreme.

A lump grew in his throat at the thought of what his leader was going to do. The man in the other room was going to torture her, hurt his best friend in the entire world for information. He was going to do whatever it took to get her to break and tell him whatever he wanted to know.

What upset him most, however, was that he knew that Kei wouldn’t give in. When she truly accepted someone, she remained unusually loyal. He always teased her for that. He grew up only trusting himself and his instincts, even though they often lead him right into trouble.

But his instincts right now were as clear as day: Get Kei out of there before she tears The Governor apart.

Cage an animal and taunt it for too long, and that animal will surely lash out. If The Governor kept toying with her, or worse, Kei was going to snap. She would kill him, tear everything down, and leave nothing but ashes in her wake.

Sen let go of his tight grip on the doorknob and rushed down the hall. He had to get her out of there. He had to get her out of there, and out past these walls before she officially lost it.

And when she lost it, she couldn’t be controlled.

When she lost it, collateral damage was inescapable. 


	29. When The Dead Come Knocking pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m gonna bring them all to you, and I’m gonna make you spend every waking moment with them,” He rasped in her ear, “And while you’re screaming and crying I’ll cut off your head too, just so I can capture that horrified look on your pretty little face. I want to keep it forever and ever to look at.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Um...as you can tell from le quote up above, mature/messed up content is in store. 
> 
> Just a heads up. 
> 
> Um...enjoy, I guess? lol xox

20 minutes had gone by. Kei had been counting the seconds in her head. She listened to the sound of Merle howling and hollering with laughter outside the door. Someone else had made a joke that she missed. The Governor merely looked at her, his eyes wandering over her, reading her. Her eyes began to do the same, until they traveled over to his mouth. He smirked. Confidence. He leaned back into his chair, looking down at the metal table, wiping away little flecks of dirt.

“Good guy, Sen,” He spoke out, finally breaking the long silence between the two of them, “Found him eight months ago, runnin’ from a pack of biters just outside our walls…He‘s talented with that metal staff of his, says he was taught in Japan.” 

Kei’s deadpan expression didn’t falter. She continued to stare as he looked away from the table and right at her.

“Told us he was waitin' for his friend,” He spoke, “They were supposed to take refuge at Fort Benning, but he found it overrun. Says she trained with him in Japan...that she was an expert with a sword.” 

His last sentence made the girl's lips twitch.

“You know what I think, _Kei_ ,” He began, folding his arms and looking at her coldly, “I think you’re that friend Sen was waitin’ for...” 

Once more, her expression didn’t falter. She merely narrowed her eyes at him, watching as he leaned in across the table.

“I know you can understand me,” He replied, tossing one finger over towards the door, “I heard you talkin' plain English to Sen just before I came in.”

No answer. She just continued to stare at him. He smirked. She was strong willed. He always liked those kinds of people.

“So what’d he tell you, huh?” He asked, “That this place is a gold mine for food and water? Did he tell you which guards were stationed where along the walls?” 

Still no answer.

“Where is your camp,” He inquired.

Again, she didn’t answer. She merely stared, stared blankly like she did with all the other men in her past. She saw him smirk. He let out a scoff and nodded his head.

“Okay,” He let out, nodding in approval, “Okay let’s try this then. Stand up, please.” 

The girl didn’t budge. Her lips only pursed while her big dark eyes squinted lightly. The man’s smirk instantly fell as he leaned forward, his face dark and menacing.

“I said stand up,” He hissed, “….Stand up, or I’ll bring Sen’s head in here…I’ll even throw in Glenn’s hand, and a couple of his girlfriend's fingers.” 

She saw it in his eyes. He was being dead serious right now. If there was one thing a crazy person was good at, it was recognizing another crazy person. He had done his fair share of horrific things, and he was willing to go as far as needed to get what he wanted. He wasn’t like Shane with his animal-like survival instinct. This guy was different. This man sitting before her with cold, dead eyes had been broken for a while, and he had no intention of being fixed.

He fed off his mania, his guilt, his loss. He needed it. Somehow, it was keeping him from ending his own life right then and there. Somehow, losing his sanity had sparked something within him. That something, as dark as it was, had given him a new and twisted sense of purpose.

“ _Stand up_ ,” He demanded, his final warning low and cold. Kei pushed her chair back with her feet and stood up. She watched as he sat back in his chair with a faint smile of satisfaction. His eyes roamed over her. A common male gesture the girl was all too familiar with.

“You really are a vision,” He admitted, his voice soft and faint, “I mean, Sen said you were pretty, but he never said just how pretty you really were…” 

She didn’t respond. She merely eyed the man in front of her, watching him, waiting for him to make his next move. She watched the corner of his mouth twitch upward a little, his hands clenching the arms of his chair.

“Take off your shirt,” He demanded. Kei’s lower eyelids twitched slightly, her lips pursing as he leaned forward in his seat.

“Kei,” He rasped, his voice suddenly rigid and cold, “Take off your shirt.”

She didn't move a muscle. Her eyes impulsively closed shut, his last three words seeming to bring back a slew of memories. Memories she was so sure that she had kicked to hell, never to come back up again. 

“I won’t say it again,” The man warned, his voice snapping the dark haired girl out of her daze. She looked at him, the dark vibe that surrounded him seemed to only grow darker. Kei shut her eyes and took a deep, quiet breath through her nose. She grabbed the hem of her shirt.

_One…two…three…_

She slid her sweaty shirt over her head, tossing it to the side. Goosebumps prickled her moist skin against the faint chill from the cool air around her. The Governor’s eyes began to roam over her once more. She still had her baggy grey tank top on. 

“That won’t do,” He spoke, his eyes pointing to the sweaty top, “Off…” 

She did what she was told. She kept her dark eyes on him the whole time, watching the subtle satisfaction glinting behind his eyes. He wasn’t looking at her in lust, not for her body anyway. He was lusting after her fear. He wanted to see her scared, humiliated, ashamed. He wanted her to cry and plead like a little weakling. He wanted her to break. 

She held her tank top firmly in one hand and turned, tossing it to the dark corner only a couple feet away. She turned back towards The Governor and watched as his eyes scanned her, observing each little feature on her body. The man looked over her with his eyebrows slightly raised. Merle wasn’t kidding when he said she was so skinny. He could see the outlines of her ribs behind her skin. Her hip bones jutted out against the lip of her distressed jeans. A lacy black triangle bra covered her small chest, the sheer floral patterned fabric somehow adding some charm to her look. 

She really was pretty to him, in this moment anyway. Seeing her so vulnerable like this gave him a sense of pride in himself, satisfied with knowing that he still had power. Along with that sense of pride, came a small flash of desire as well. If she wasn’t such a threat, and if there wasn’t such big a risk of others finding out, he would’ve loved to keep her here. He would have loved to have her to all himself to explore and do as he wished. 

He ushered her to continue, his eyes pointing to the remaining piece of fabric covering her small chest. She reached in front and undid the clasps, expressionlessly slipping off her bra and letting it fall to the floor. She folded her arms and kept her breasts hidden from his sight. She was going to give him as little of a show as possible. 

_Four…five…six…_

He stood up slowly, keeping his eyes on hers as he undid his belt. He watched as her lips pursed and her nose scrunched up ever so slightly. He smiled on the inside. She was angry with him.

He slid off his belt and placed it on the table, his eyes locked onto hers as he slowly began to make his way to her. He managed to undo the top three buttons of his dress shirt when he finally approached her from behind. He hovered over her, the soft-looking skin of her back radiating warmth onto his front. His eyes roamed over her, stopping at one particular spot on her shoulder blade.

“That’s quite a tattoo you got there,” He whispered, “A dragon…” 

Kei’s muscles froze when a pair of lips touched her back. She bit on her lip and screwed her eyes shut as one strong hand slid up her side.

“ _Daryl,_ ” She thought to herself, “ _Think about Daryl. Think about him safe, alive with the others. Think about if he were here. Think about what he'd do to him.…_ ”

She shivered as his hand snaked it’s way up to the back of her neck. She felt his lips travel from her shoulder blade, to her shoulder, to the side of her head. She felt his pointed nose bury itself into her dark hair, inhaling her scent lightly and sighing in satisfaction. She felt his fingers gently tug on the hair piece that kept her bun up. He ran his fingers across the tiny crystal charms that dangled off the piece of jewelry. 

“Beautiful,” He whispered into her ear, the grip on her neck growing tighter, “Simply beautiful…”

Her stomach flipped when she felt his fingers dig into her neck. Her world suddenly shifted as the hand on her neck slammed her face down into the table. A sharp pain spiked through her head and shot down her spine. She struggled a bit, shifting when she felt the man’s crotch pressed up against her. 

“Talk,” He hissed, “I wanna hear you. Talk.”

She didn't say anything. He gripped her skinny neck once more and yanked her up, pressing her back against his chest. His lips roughly touched her ear, his breathing harsh. 

“If you don't speak up, I'm gonna take it as you being okay with whatever I choose to do with you,” 

Just then Kei's foot pulled forward before kicking back, knocking the Governor in the shin and stomping down onto his foot. He only let go of her neck for a second before scrambling to regain control, but it was too late. The minute he let go, Kei reached over for the man's belt and grabbed for the knife. She gripped it tight and was fully ready to use it, but one large hand came down and side swiped her in the head. Her vision flashed white for a minute, weight suddenly crushing down on her as the Governor placed his body over hers and wrenched the knife from her hands. He gripped it tight and grabbed Kei by the hair, yanking her back and forcing her dark eyes to look at his. His breathing was ragged and heavy, his face scrunched up into a sick snarl as he pressed the knife to her neck.

“You want to do this the hard way?” He asked, earning no response from the girl, “DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS THE HARD WAY?!” 

He yanked back harder, finally earning the first sign that this girl was in fact human. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, a strained whimper vibrating in her throat. He let out a huff and pulled her back off the table, the two of them taking a few steps back. He turned her around and re-gripped a chunk of her hair, looking down into her coal black eyes at the same time. He could see her retreating to the confines of her own mind, attempting to leave her body here to do what he wanted. 

He wouldn't let that happen. He would make her stay here in this very moment, and he did it by pressing the knife to the back of her neck, and his lips to her ear. He only whispered four words to her. Four words that made Kei's jaw clench and her nose scrunch up in disgust. Not for what he had whispered to her, but for what this guy was. He was pathetic, complete and utter shit as a whole.

“All you have to do is tell me where your camp is,” He offered, fully expecting for her to turn and look at him and bitterly cave in. 

Instead she turned her head and stared at him, her nose crinkling and eyes burning with hate, 

“No,” She hissed through her teeth.

She watched as his eyes flickered and his mouth formed a smirk. His grip on her hair grew tight and he pressed the knife against the back of her neck, one false move meaning a nasty gash on her skin. 

The girl thought of nothing but ripping his throat out as she was brought down to her knees.

* * *

 

_One…Two…Three…_

She was pinned to the table again. He didn't seem to favor spitters, or rather when girls spat his own release in his face and attempted to pry the knife from his hand. He watched the side of her bruised face, her hair fanned out under her, her dull eyes looking straight towards the wall. She didn’t say a single word, giving the man above her a small sense of delight. She really was a fighter. 

“You really are somethin', you know,” He muttered, pressing his body harder against hers, “When I find out where your people are, I’m gonna cut off their heads one by one with your sword. I’m gonna cut off Glenn’s, Sen’s, Merle‘s brother‘s…”

_Four…Five…Six…_

Her blood began to boil. Her stomach clenched tighter at the very thought of him. Her breathing became labored and shallow through her nose. She wanted him dead, she wanted him to hurt in the worst way possible. She wanted every good thing that this sick man was holding onto to be ripped from him. She wanted him to suffer. The fire in her clenching stomach was beginning to burn. She wanted to scream.

“I’m gonna bring them all to you, and I’m gonna make you spend every waking moment with them,” He rasped in her ear, “And while you’re screaming and crying I’ll cut off your head too, just so I can capture that horrified look on your pretty little face. I want to keep it forever and ever to look at.” 

He jerked his body forward, pressing her head further into the table once more before backing away. She slowly stood up and folded her arms again, watching as he picked up her t-shirt and bra. He held it up to her with a coy smile.

“Don’t mind me keepin' this, do you?” Once again no response, only a mere death glare. “Good.”

Her fingers tightened into fists. The rage had taken over. All-encompassing, all-overwhelming. Her blood began pounding in her ears. Her jaw clamped shut. Her breathing got heavier and heavier, all her muscles burning and tightening like a coil. 

_Seven…Eight…Nine…_

She stared daggers Governor, watching as he smirked and slid out the door. She took a sharp breath through her nose and opened her mouth. She couldn't hold it in anymore.

_Ten._

An ear splitting scream cracked through the remote quiet of her prison, making each of her captors jump at the sound. The Governor stood outside the door with a deadpan look on his face, listening as the girl spewed out her rage like a volcano. 

Sen was outside the storage building with Merle and Martinez. He could hear her as she released her pent up emotions in the form of a muffled scream. The other two laughed while Sen remained silent. They were all in for hell now. She wasn't going to let this go when she got free.

"Hooowee! She got a set a'pipes on her, don't she?!" Merle laughed, giving Sen one hard pat on the back. The boy didn't respond, he merely watched as the Governor exited the storage rooms. As the leader walked out, Sen and the other two immediately noticed his changed look. His belt was off, and his pants were slightly unzipped at the top. He missed the first two buttons of his shirt, and the skin on his forehead had formed a faint layer of sweat. Merle and Martinez looked to each other before looking to their leader, the two of them mentally refusing to ask what really happened in there.

The Governor chose to ignore their curious stares and let out a sigh, wiping his forehead before placing his hands on his hips.

"So," He spoke out, leaning against the Red Chevy, "They know Andrea..."

"But they don't know she's here," Merle stated.

"But they do know your brother," The leader countered, looking to his right hand man with a firm expression. The grey haired man nodded lightly, clearly hesitant about something.

" _He_ does," The man admitted, "But I don't know about the girls, never seen 'em before."

"Their people may come for 'em," The Governor remarked.

"Maybe," Merle spoke in thought, "The kid and Andrea both said they went back for me."

"So what, he won't break? Say where his people are?" The Governor asked.

"He's a tough son of a bitch," Martinez reasoned, "Picked that walker apart in minutes. We'll need him for leverage if his people come."

"What'd you try and kill him for?" Sen asked, looking to Merle with knitted eyebrows.

"He pissed me off," The man seethed, curling his lips inwards.

"What's the girl say?" The leader asked, drawing Merle back on topic.

"I was just about to talk to her now," He announced.

"I'll take care of it," The leader intervened, "I want you to send Pete down to get the Asian girl. Send her to the storage room under my apartment. The walls are thicker, she can scream as much as she wants down there." 

Merle nodded in response and without another word The Governor walked off. He started to make his way back to the storage rooms with Martinez following suit. Sen stared at the backs of their heads for a few seconds before turning towards the chevy’s trunk, quickly looking inside for Kei‘s weapon.

"Sen," The Governor's voice called out. The tall boy turned around, looking towards his leader. The man give him a warm and toothy smile. That smile would’ve made him feel better about things, if it were given to him by anyone else. When his leader smiled like that, it only meant one thing.

"I'd like talk to you later on," He requested, his voice as cheerful as ever, "Around dinner time. My office?"

Sen looked to the pavement before looking back at his leader. He nodded his head wordlessly and gave him a smile. He earned a smile and a nod from The Governor in response, the man turning away and walking back with Martinez to the interrogation rooms. Merle walked off as well to go find Pete, leaving Sen alone to quickly think out a plan. 

The man turned back towards the Chevy and looked into the trunk. Bits of glass was scattered everywhere, but there was no Katana. He checked the passenger seat, the driver's, even the back seats. Still, no sword. He let out a grunt and pounded his fist onto the dirty window in frustration. Great, now there was no telling where on earth that damned thing went. It could have gone to any one of the guards, it could be in the armory, hell the Governor could have taken it and put it in his office.

The boy perked up, letting out a small airy gasp in realization. His office! He kept newcomers' weapons in there all the time.

He turned towards the Governor's apartment, looking up to the 3rd floor window, 2 windows from the left. His heart began to race. His stomach twisted in anxiety. If he did this and got caught, he would be dead for sure. If he did this and failed, he AND Kei would die for sure. 

No. He wasn't going to fail. He had come too far and fought for too damn long to wimp out now. Kei was finally here alive and she needed him. He wasn't going to lose her again. He wasn't going to fail her. 

" _Fuck failure_ ," He thought firmly to himself. He took a deep breath through his nose and walked over to the apartment building. He wasn't here to be a soldier. He wasn't here to be The Governor's lapdog. He wasn't here to be anyone's _anything_. He was here in this hellhole to survive, and to protect his best friend. And that's exactly what he was gonna do.

* * *

Rick watched from inside the fence as the woman before him winced in pain. She placed her hand on her thigh, covering a wound that was still bleeding. The walkers around her sniffed the air and turned their heads in her direction. The woman dropped her stuff and started to limp back in panic. She had only managed to make it undetected because she was covered in walker guts. However, the scent of living human blood coming from the side of her thigh was overpowering. Rick watched as the woman swiftly reached in back of her and slid out a katana. She lunged forward and stuck a walker through the head, wincing in pain as she continued to limp around. More walkers were starting to crowd around. The stranger looked around in panic, limping about with her weapon held forward.

“Should we help her?!” Rick heard his son ask. He turned and saw Carl over by the gate. The keys were in his hand, and he was ready to do whatever his father asked him to.

She swung her sword around with a grunt, slicing off the head of another walker. The fatigue and the throbbing pain of her wound was starting to really get to her. She stumbled back and fell onto the grass, her muscles growing numb by the second. By sheer will she managed to get up again, lunging forward with her weapon. She stabbed an approaching walker in the side, kicking it in the chest with her foot afterwards. She watched as the creature flew back and hit the grass with a loud thud. The hisses were growing louder. She was getting closed in on.

The girl let out a series of labored pants. She was starting to feel real faint. Her heart was thumping loudly in her ears. Her vision was getting blurred. Before she knew it, her legs gave out and she fell straight onto her back. Fatigue and blood loss was finally overwhelming her body. She looked up at the sky, a ring of heads starting to crowd her vision. Walkers were surrounding her. This was it. 

She let out a huff of air, flinching when she heard a series of pops. She managed to see two walker heads fly back before she officially blacked out. 

Rick and Carl had managed to pick off the walkers just in time. They brought the exhausted survivor back inside and kept her in the security area just outside of their own cellblock. Rick set her down on a blanket and got down on his knees, opening up a bottle of water. He poured a little bit of it on her, managing to wake the disoriented girl up. Her big dark eyes opened wide and her breathing became frantic. Her head jutted around, looking at her surroundings in shock. 

“Hey, hey,” He spoke out calmly, “It’s alright. Look at me, look at me, it’s alright. Shhhh… Hey…” 

The woman looked up at him, her frantic breathing ceasing momentarily. She watched as he held his hand out. His breathing heavy and rushed, but his demeanor was slightly calm and reassuring. 

“Who are you?” He asked her, his voice soft and just above a whisper. He watched as her eyes went from his over to the sword only a couple feet or so way from him. Rick was already two steps ahead. Just as she turned on her side and lunged for it, Rick managed to reach his leg out and kick it further away.

Her expression changed. Fear was now replaced with suspicion and wariness. She was wide awake now, and she looked as angry and fearful as a stray dog cornered in an alley. 

“We’re not gonna hurt you,” Rick assured, looking sternly into her eyes, “Unless you try something stupid first. Alright?” 

The woman looked up at him, searching for the lie somewhere in his eyes or facial expression. Her attention was torn away when a man walked in from the cellblock several feet away.

“Rick,” Daryl called, earning his leader’s attention. The hunter walked in, looking down to see an unfamiliar woman all bloody and wet on the floor. 

“Who the hell is this?” He asked, looking to Rick for an answer. The leader merely turned to face the stranger again, keeping a hand on her shoulder. 

“Wanna tell us your name?” 

The woman didn’t say a word. She merely sat up halfway and looked at the leader viciously, mistrust radiating from her expression.

“You wanna tell us your name?” The leader repeated, his voice falling into a soft whisper. 

It was nothing but a staring contest between the two. The woman wasn’t saying anything, and Rick couldn’t get it out of her, no matter how nice was coming off to be.

“Y’all come on in here,” Daryl spoke, looking to each member of his group. Rick stood up, grabbing the katana while keeping his eyes on the woman.

“Everything alright?” He asked.

“You’re gonna wanna see this,” Daryl answered. Rick kept his eyes on the wounded stranger before looking over to Beth and Hershel.

“Go ahead,” He announced, turning to look over at his son, “Carl get the bag.”

The young boy nodded firmly and grabbed the shopping basket. He also grabbed the wounded survivor’s rucksack, slinging it over his shoulder. He followed Hershel, Beth, and his little baby sister back inside the cellblock.

“We’ll keep this safe and sound,” Rick announced to the woman, holding up her katana, “The doors are all locked. You’ll be safe here.” 

He looked down and pointed to the gunshot wound on her thigh.

“We can treat that,”

The woman peered at him before she let out a few shaky breaths through her nose. She looked away with a snarl on her face.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” She rasped bitterly.

“Doesn’t matter,” He replied simply with a shrug, turning away to head back inside with Daryl, “Can’t let you leave.”

The leader walked back into the cellblock, Daryl locking the door behind them. The hunter led him over to a cell and pointed inside with a faint smile on his face. Rick furrowed lightly and turned to look in, the thing inside being something he never expected to see. A skinny woman, with short hair, dirty and scraped skin, and ripped clothing sat inside on the bottom bunk. She looked out and stared at the leader, a weary smile on her face. Rick cocked his head a little and blinked in disbelief. 

It was Carol.

A smile stretched across the man’s face as he let out a sigh of relief. Carol carefully got up off the bunk, still very weak and exhausted from all the time she spent in solitude. She let out an audible “Oh god,” and leaned into him as he took her into his arms. He held her tightly, planting a kiss on the side of her head. 

“Thank god,” He let out, burying his face into her bony shoulder. He couldn’t believe it. Carol was alive this entire time. She had made it. He gave her one more tight hug before letting go, giving her a chance to hug Hershel. 

“How?” Hershel let out, his eyes crinkling as his smile grew wider. Her took her into a tight, one armed hug, listening as Carol chuckled lightly.

“Solitary,” She answered, smiling in relief.

“Poor thing fought her way into a cell,” Daryl answered, looking over to Rick, “Must’ve passed out. Dehydrated.” 

Hershel then let go and stepped away, giving Beth a chance to come through with the baby. Carol’s eyes softened. She put a hand to her mouth in awe. She was absolutely taken with the new life that laid sleeping in Beth’s arms. Tears began to well up in the woman’s eyes as she smiled and turned to Rick. He could tell what she was about to ask, and his heart instantly sank. Carol read his expression and understood, the shock of it all hitting her like a ton of bricks. She stepped towards Rick and put a hand on his shoulder. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she covered her mouth with her free hand.

“Rick,” She choked, her weak voice shaking as she cupped his cheeks, “I’m sorry…” 

The leader dipped his head in remorse, tears welling up in his eyes as Carol continued to whisper and quietly cry. He looked up and gently cupped Carol’s cheek for a second, trying his best to let her know that he would be okay. And it was like that, the dark cloud reappeared. Emotional wounds on the mend seemed to reopen. Carl shifted in place and wiped his teary eyes. Rick sniffled and looked away as Carol walked up to the baby, looking down at her with pink, glassy eyes. She looked healthy, and she was absolutely beautiful. 

After an hour or so, Daryl and Rick left Carol to her cell so she could get a good rest. Carl was instructed to stay inside the cellblock with Beth and the baby while Hershel came out to mend the woman’s wound. Daryl held his crossbow firmly as he walked out by Rick’s side, eyeing the woman sitting on the table furthest away. She held a piece of cloth to her wounded thigh, eyeing the three of them with the same coldness. Rick stood in front of her, his hand instinctively placed on the grip of his gun.

“We can tend to that wound for you,” He announced, pointing over to her thigh, “Give you a little food and water and then send you on your way. But you’re gonna have to tell us how you found us, and why you were carrying formula.”

“The supplies were dropped by a young asian guy,” She answered, “He was with two pretty girls; one Asian, the other white.”

Both Daryl and Hershel perked up at this bit of information.

“What happened?” Rick asked.

“Were they attacked?” Hershel inquired, his voice shaking slightly in worry. The woman looked to the Old farmer, slightly hesitant for only a second.

“They were taken,”

“Taken,” Rick quoted, “By who?”

“By the same son of a bitch who shot me,” She answered bitterly.

“Hey, these were our people,” He seethed, “Now you tell us what happened, now!” 

He grabbed at her wounded thigh, causing her to flinch and jerk upwards. Her face contorted into a snarl as she pulled away and pointed a finger at him. Daryl reacted instantly and pointed his weapon right at her.

“Don’t you EVER touch me again!!” She bit.

“You better start talkin!” The hunter warned, “Yer about to have a MUCH bigger problem than a gunshot wound!” 

The woman turned and looked at him, sizing him up with her eyes before she leaned in. 

“Find ‘em yourself,” She hissed, scrunching her nose at him in disgust. Rick eyed the stranger, holding his hand out to Daryl’s crossbow and pressing it down.

“Sh. Sh. Sh. put it down,” He whispered, keeping his eyes on the woman. Daryl lowered his crossbow, but continued to glare at the woman bitterly. Rick and the woman continued their bitter staring contest, the two of them silently sizing each other up.

“You came here for a reason,” The leader remarked simply. The woman looked away to the floor. She was hesitant, thinking deeply about whether or not to talk. The three men watched as she sighed through her nose in small defeat.

“There’s a town,” She confessed, looking up at Rick, “Woodbury. About 75 survivors, I think they were taken there.”

“A whole town?” The leader asked,

“It’s run by this guy who calls himself the Governor,” She answered bitterly, “Pretty boy, charmin’, Jim Jones type.” 

“He got muscle?” Daryl asked.

“Pair of military wannabes,” The woman answered, sounding clearly unimpressed at the idea of them, “They’ve armed sentries on every wall.”

Rick’s eyebrow arched upward.

“You know a way in?”

“Place is secure from walkers but...we could slip our way through,” She answered. The leader looked at her curiously, pursing his lips and squinting slightly.

“How’d you know how to get here?” He asked.

“They mentioned a prison,” She admitted simply, “Said which direction it was in, said it was a straight shot.”

Rick nodded his head lightly, remaining silent for a moment before looking over to the old farmer.

“This is Hershel,” He announced to her, “Father of one of the girls who was taken. He’ll take care of that.” 

He turned to look at Daryl, watching his hard expression on the stranger. He whistled lightly to the hunter, gesturing for him to follow. The hunter did so, but not without giving the woman another cold stare before leaving.

  
“How do you know we can trust her?” Oscar asked, looking to each member as they huddled around the cellblock stairs.

“This is Maggie, Kei, and Glenn! Why are we even debatin?” Beth argued.

“We ain’t, I’ll go after ‘em,” Daryl offered.

“This place sounds pretty secure, you can’t go alone,” Rick stated.

“I’ll go,” Beth offered.

“I’ll go too,” Axel offered as well. Several eyes went over to Oscar. The man sighed through his nose and nodded,

“I’m in.”

 

After the small meeting, Daryl, Oscar, and the Stranger were assigned to come with on the pursuit to get their people back. Everyone started packing up supplies and getting things ready. Oscar and Axel began packing supplies in the trunk of the Hyundai while Beth opened up the gates. Rick had gone over to a more private spot to talk to Carl one on one. Carol simply watched from the edge of the metal corridor with Little Ass Kicker in her arms. Daryl walked down from the steps and looked over to her, honest concern on his dirty face.

“Stay safe,” He spoke out.

“Nine lives, remember?” She joked, smiling faintly at the man. Daryl nodded lightly and looked down at the baby before stepping forward to head over towards the others. He managed to get a couple feet or so away before Carol called after him.

“Daryl,”

He turned around, looking over at the woman curiously. She smiled as she gently bounced the baby in her arms. 

“Kei’s gonna be okay,” She assured, “If anythin', you should be worryin' about the guys who gotta deal with her...” 

She watched as the corner of his mouth perked upwards. He nodded lightly to her and turned away, heading towards the Hyundai and getting in with Oscar. The Stranger got in the front passengers seat while Rick opened the door to the Driver’s side. He turned around to look at Hershel and Beth.

“Bring em back,” The old farmer spoke, looking to his leader firmly. Rick nodded to him and turned back, getting inside the car and starting the engine. He drove down the dirt path and sped out of the prison, following the stranger’s directions as they made their way to Woodbury. As they sped down the empty road, Rick couldn’t help but think about each and every member who was taken. He didn’t know what type of people these Woodbury residents were. He didn’t know if they were the more democratic type that locked people away and did interrogations, or the more extremist type that tortured for information.

He couldn’t bear to think of any one of them getting tortured. He would never let this Governor guy live it down if he tortured any one of his people. They were his family, his life.

And anyone who messed with his family was automatically going to lose.

* * *

 

“A-Are you sure I can’t have someone with me?” Peter asked, approaching the metal door to Kei’s incarceration.

“The girl’s an anorexic weaklin’, the hell is she gonna do?” Merle scoffed, “You can handle her, Petey. The Governor’s got faith in ya.”

The 20 year old blonde nodded to the older man, his face still etched with worry. Faith wasn’t exactly something that could keep a crazy person from tearing your face off. Merle let out a huff through his nose and placed one large hand on the boy’s shoulder, looking at him sternly in the eyes,

“Look, if she gives ya any trouble, just knock her ‘round a few times,” He instructed firmly, “Show her whose boss! You got this!”

He gave the boy a few hard pats on the back before pushing him forward to open up the door.

“Sheldon already went in and tied her up,” He assured, “You just have to put the sack on her head, and drag her sorry ass out through the back. That ain’t so bad, is it?!”

Peter took a shaky breath through his nose, shaking his head no. Merle nodded firmly and gave him another hard pat on the back.

“That’s it boy, strap ya balls on,” He urged, “Warren and I will be gettin’ Glenn and his girl from the big room. We’ll be right next to ya, so holler if she gives ya any trouble. Alright?!” 

“R-Right,” Peter stammered, watching as Merle walked off to find Warren. The blonde man looked around and shook slightly. He was alone, all alone against a violent stranger that’s been locked in a scary room since this morning. His worry was getting the best of him.

“No, snap out of it!” He hissed to himself, “It’s just a girl, a weak girl who’s starving. She’s probably passed out by now. Get in there, put the bag on, and drag her ass out…show her whose boss. I‘m the boss…I‘m the boss…”

He chanted this to himself as he got mentally prepared for the task at hand. He took several deep breaths, paced from side to side, and even did a couple stretches before unlocking the door. He gripped onto the metal handle and looked up, taking one more deep breath. He gathered his courage and swung open the door, pulling out his gun as he rushed forward.

“ALRIGHT! IT’S TIME TO-”

His voice went dry and caught in his throat when he stared the sight before him. The hanging lights were swinging high above him, making shadows shift and swirl around. The man lowered his gun as he stepped forward, his heart thumping in his chest with fear. Blood was smeared across the floor, and all across the metal table in front of him. His heart hammered behind his ribcage when he saw the table. A body was sprawled out across it, blood pooling out from underneath and dripping onto the concrete floor. The body was that of a male, late 20's early 30's with floppy brown curls for hair. A horrified look was plastered on his face, his dull eyes wide as blood dribbled down from a hole in his forehead.  
  
Peter swallowed the lump in his throat, his breathing labored and rapid as he looked at the corpse’s clothing. He recognized the white hockey jersey now stained pink and red with blood and sweat.

It was Sheldon. 

He never managed to tie the girl up, which meant one thing, one terrifying thing.

She was still in this room, and she was loose.

Peter's eyes grew wide at this realization. He lifted his arm up to hold his gun high, but one blood stained navy blue converse shoe got in the way. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=68331411) rushed out from the dark corner and violently kicked his arm, causing the boy to cry out at the sound of a loud crack. He let go of the gun instantly, cradling his injured arm for only a second before looking forward at his attacker. She stood in front of him, her arms and tank top splattered and stained with sweat and blood. The look in her eyes was feral, her face scrunched up into an angry snarl.

She lunged forward at the boy and shoved him as hard as she could into the wall. The boy stumbled backwards, his back violently smacking against the wall of metal and wood. His eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to scream, but something suddenly pierced his neck and cut off his voice. She stabbed him right in the throat with something small and sharp. His eyes went even wider as she yanked her weapon back out of his throat. It was a hair pin, the jeweled accessory she was using to keep her hair up.

His blood began spurting out, splashing onto her hands and forearms. He fell onto the floor and began to violently flail about. He watched with shaky, blurred vision as she hovered over him, her head merely tilting to the side. She gripped onto her bloody maiko hair pin tightly, watching as the helpless boy gurgled and sputtered on the floor.

She got down on one knee and put a hand on his head, turning it to the side. She raised her free hand high and slammed it down with all her might, piercing his fleshy temple with her pin. The boy froze up instantly, letting out one final breath before his shaking finally ceased. 

She pulled the pin out of his head and carelessly wiped it on his dirty shirt. She stared down at the body, her breathing ragged and harsh through her nose. She leaned in, hovering over the corpse, looking at the wound before looking back at him. Her coal black eyes stared into his dull blues, the whites of his eyes now pinkish red with what looked like tears. With her eyes still locked on him, she reached over and pushed the door shut beside her, quickly getting to work with going through is pockets. 


	30. Made to Suffer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You,” He rasped, his hot breath hitting against her sweaty skin, “Yer a tough little bitch, ain’t ya. The Governor’s right to wanna break you. You ain‘t what ya put off to be…”
> 
> He leaned in closer, his nose only inches from her own.
> 
> “I only hope he gives me a chance to try and break ya myself,” He hissed, “I know a few tricks that’ll getcha singin’ the right tune…”

Night had fallen across Woodbury. The torches that lined around the walls had been lit, giving the small survivor town very dim lighting. [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=68846948) opened up the door to his apartment and looked around. The streets were beginning to empty. A curfew had been set for the survivors that weren’t on security. Men, women, and children of all ages were starting to head back inside their houses for the night.

The Governor had managed to get the group’s location out of the brunette girl from Kei‘s group. Sen had heard Merle bragging about it during dinner. After dinner was done, The Governor had gone and summoned both him and Merle back to his office. To the boy’s great fortune, the leader had summoned him to talk and _only_ talk. Before discussing his next move with Merle, he wanted to know everything there was to know about Kei. He was interested in her and her story, and he surely had plans to keep her here just a little longer than the others. Although this made the boy sick to his stomach, it still relieved him. He wasn’t planning to kill Kei just yet, nor was he going to kill him. After all, he was the only one who could apparently calm her down.

Still, it was only a matter of time before he had no use for either of them. 

And that would be the time when he would throw the both of them in the walker pits. 

Sen had no intention of sticking around for that; nor was Kei. 

The dark haired boy quietly shut his apartment door behind him and rushed out onto the street. He did his best to stay in the shadows as he made his way to the storage building where Kei and her friends were being held. His freshly packed rucksack bounced against his back, hitting against his bo staff and Kei’s katana. He made it over to the large oak tree that was just outside the building. He hid in the shadows and set his rucksack down onto the ground. He licked his lips, looking over to the front door, watching front man Caesar Martinez as he paced back and forth with a machine gun in his hands. Sen closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, and going over the plan in his head once more before stepping out. He walked up to Martinez and gave the short man his usual bored look.

“You get the girl out yet?” He asked, watching as Martinez rolled eyes in annoyance, “Governor’s been waiting, man. What the hell is taking so long?"

"Why don't you crawl outta my ass, Jackie Chan," Martinez bit, "Pete’s got it handled.”

“Peter just came running to me with a black eye and a wet stain on his pants,” Sen scoffed as he folded his arms, “He didn’t get jack-shit. I’m taking over.” 

“I didn’t see Pete walk outta here,” Martinez replied, his voice dripping with suspicion. Sen merely arched one eyebrow upwards, his usual cocky smirk on his face.

“How long you been here?” He asked, watching as the man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“...An hour,” He answered.

“Well he came knocking on my door just after dinner,” Sen replied simply while stepping forward, “Now can I get through please? Or are we gonna have a problem?” 

Caesar looked the guy up and down before pursing his lips. He jerked his head towards the door and continued to look out as Sen walked past him.

“Thanks _Papi_ ,” He chirped.

“Fuck you,” He heard Ceasar mutter, making him smirk even more as he walked inside.

He made his way through the dirty halls, trying to remain calm and focused as he approached Kei’s door. He looked to either side of him before knocking lightly, quickly opening it up sliding inside. He found himself engulfed in darkness, the thrum of the generators outside being the only sound breaking the eery silence. He couldn’t help but smirk lightly in the dark. She was tactful. 

He heard shuffling to his right. One steely hand grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to the side. He planted his feet and turned his body slightly. His free hand reached upwards, instantly grabbing the other wrist and interfering the downward strike. He could hear Kei’s heavy breathing through her nose. In his palm, he could feel something wet and sticky splattered on the skin of her wrist.

“Dude, it’s me!” He whispered, listening as her rushed breathing began to slow down. He could feel the muscles in her arm loosen. He let go of her wrist and listened closely to the sound of footsteps. The lights suddenly flickered on, making the tall boy flinch and blink several times. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked around at the bloody scene. Two bodies missing shirts and shoes were on the table. Blood was everywhere across the floor. He turned his head and looked to Kei over by the light switch, her eyes dark and her face blank. He smirked at her, shaking his head in disapproval.

“Could’ve made less of a mess,” 

“Fuck you,” She bit as she folded her arms, “If you came here to rescue me, you might want a do-over. You got my sword?” 

He rolled his eyes as he slid the weapon off his shoulder. He held it out to her, but quickly pulled it back as she reached for it.

“Ah ah ah!” He chirped, a smug grin on his face, “What’s the magic word?”

“Will you fucking give me it?!” She hissed bitterly. Sen jumped a little, handing over her weapon without any further teasing.

“Jesus,” He whispered, “Just trying to lighten the mood.” 

“Yeah well when I stick my sword through that Governor’s head, _then_ my mood’ll lighten,” Kei grumbled, throwing her Katana strap over her shoulder. Sen watched as she pulled Peter’s gun out from the lip of her jeans and cocked it back.

“You’re gonna have to stick close to me before you use that,” He whispered, “You ready?” 

“Yeah,” She answered, “What’re you gonna d—” 

The girl stopped mid-sentence when she saw her best friend hold out a potato sack with a smile. She shook her head firmly. She opened her mouth to protest, but what cut off as her friend rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

“Just shut up and trust me,” He hissed, quickly putting the potato sack over her head. He took her gun and turned her around, lifting up her tank slightly. He placed the weapon in the back between her belt and her jeans. After pulling the hem of her tank top over it, he then went on to grab both of her wrists. He kept them in one hand as he opened the door with the other. He lead her out of the room and shut the door behind him. Kei stumbled and fake struggled as they made their way down the hall. She stopped suddenly and froze when Sen let out a sharp “Whoa! Whoa!” under his breath. She listened closely. Two sets of feet thumped past her. 

“Ayyyy there! Finally got the bitch all wrangled up, huh?” She heard Merle’s ragged and annoying voice chime out. 

“Yeah, she got the best of Peter, made the guy piss his pants,” Sen scoffed.

“Biggest puss here, I’ll tell ya what,” She heard Merle sigh in disappointment, “Bring her over to the Governor’s, he wants’a good and proper chat with her.” 

“Sure thing,” Sen replied, “What are you two doing?” 

“Gatherin’ up Glenn and the girl,” She heard another man speak out, “Boss wants ‘em in the screamer pits.” 

“I-I could help out,” Sen offered quickly, “If you’d like.” 

She heard Merle let out a brief and hearty laugh.

“You got balls, son!” He let out, “We got it handled. You just bring that girl on over to The Governor’s right quick, ya hear?” 

“Yes sir,”

She felt Sen push her forward, and that made her panic. She kept her feet planted in place and leaned back.

“What the fuck!?” She whispered out. 

“Sh!” He let out sharply.

“You said we were going to get them!” She argued under her breath.

“Sh!” He repeated.

“You said we—”

“I know and we will!” He interrupted in a sharp whisper, “You have to trust me!”

“Fuck you!” She hissed, “Glenn and Maggie are going to die! And you‘re not doing anything!”

“I’m trying to fucking get you three out of here!” He hissed sharply, “Now keep movi—”

Before Sen could get in another word, two figures barreled through the door that Warren had just opened. Everything seemed to happen so fast. A shirtless Asian boy covered in blood rushed through, knocking into Merle and pinning him to the wall. A tall and skinny brunette rushed through as well, pinning Warren to the opposite wall. Before Sen could even react, Kei wrung her wrists from his hands and turned around sharply, kicking the boy square in the stomach. The boy let out a swear as he stumbled back into the wall. Kei whipped off the potato sack and looked around with wide eyes. Merle was rolling around with Glenn, and Maggie was stabbing a boy in the neck with something sharp and bloody. It looked like a piece of broken bone. 

She quickly pulled out her sword, yelling for Maggie to back away as she swung it around. Maggie leapt out of the way, and just as Kei was about to cut the head off, a series of shots started to fly everywhere. The two girls ducked along with Merle and Glenn. Just as Warren had begun to fall to the floor, he had managed to pull the trigger of his uzi. After a short burst of gunfire, he landed on the ground, gurgling and sputtering in a fast forming pool of his own blood. 

Kei saw Sen shift from the corner of her eye. She turned around sharply pointed her sword right at him. The tip of her blade touched his whiskery chin. The boy merely looked at it without fear. His eyes then looked over to her own. They were wide and fierce with a burning determination. That look used to overwhelm him when they were younger. She was ready. Ready to do whatever was necessary to get her and the two others out of there. What he wasn’t so sure about, however, was whether or not she was willing to kill her best friend for these people. Were they really worth all the years he had known her? Were they worth all the shit the two of them had been through together? 

He asked her this. Not with words, but with his eyes. His eyebrows knitted together, big brown saucers looking into her dark ones. He asked her. He asked her if she was willing to put that sword in his throat for them. He dared her, challenged her, taunted her, begging her to go ahead and do it. 

He watched as her nose twitched slightly. The tip of her blade slowly raised up. She turned on her heels and stuck her sword through Warren’s head.

“LET HIM GO!!” She heard Maggie scream firmly. The girl turned around, watching as the farmer’s daughter kept Warren’s uzi pointed to Merle’s head. He had his bayonet attachment to Glenn’s throat. Kei managed to get a good look at him for the first time since they were in the chevy. The poor boy was battered to a pulp, his right eye purplish-red and swollen. Blood dripped down from his nose and went past his swollen lip, all the way to his neck, and down past stomach. Kei’s heart didn’t break with anguish and sympathy. Instead, it burned. It burned with hatred and anger. Whoever did this to him was definitely going to pay.

She turned and pointed her sword over to Sen on the floor. The boy hadn’t moved an inch. He just looked to Kei with knitted eyebrows. She knew him well enough to recognize that look. He was mentally yelling at her, calling her the stupidest girl on the planet right now. It didn’t matter to her. They were in control now, and things were going to go a little differently this time. 

She turned her head and looked to Merle, watching as he slowly held his hands up in defense. She noticed his eyes shift over to her, or, rather past her. His lips formed a sick, confident smile as he looked over to Maggie.

“Okay!” He chirped, smiling wider at the sound of several guns cocking. Kei turned around sharply to see 4 men with automatic weapons pointed right at them. Anger and frustration burned in her stomach as Martinez yelled for her to drop the sword. She stared at him bitterly as she did so, letting it fall to Sen’s side on the ground. The tall boy looked up at her. She stared down at him firmly, her eyes still riddled with mistrust. He took the handle of her sword and gripped it firmly, flinching as Merle grabbed the uzi from Maggie’s hands and smacked Kei square across the face with it. She didn’t let out a single noise as she fell back and slammed into the wall. She didn’t cry or yell when they grabbed Maggie by the arms and shoved her back inside the room. She didn’t even flinch when Merle kicked Glenn in the side while he was still on the floor. 

“GET UP!!” The man spat, watching as the beaten boy writhed on the floor in pain. Kei staggered forward to help, but was stopped by Martinez and his gun. He kept it pointed at her and asked what she had sticking out of the back of her jeans. She merely stared daggers at him, not saying a single word. The guard on Martinez’s right stomped over and reached in back, pulling out the pistol and carefully tossing it over to Donald. Martinez kept his uzi pointed at her, guiding her back over to the wall and keeping her pressed against it. She watched as Glenn struggled a little, but managed to get up all by himself. 

He staggered back inside, getting onto his knees beside Maggie as Shupert and Donald kept their guns on them. Merle then turned and looked over to Kei. His stormy eyes were dark and menacing, nothing like his younger brother’s. He was nothing like Daryl. God, she missed him right now. She just wanted the three of them to be home. She just wanted to be home, in bed, and in Daryl’s arms.

He staggered up to her, giving her a good look at his sweaty skin, and light grey 5:00 shadow.

“ _You_ ,” He rasped, his hot breath hitting against her sweaty skin, “Yer a tough little bitch, ain’t ya. The Governor’s right to wanna break you. You ain‘t what ya put off to be…”

He leaned in closer, his nose only inches from her own. 

“I only hope he gives me a chance to try and break ya myself,” He hissed, “I know a few tricks that’ll getcha singin’ the right tune…” 

Her face twisted into a snarl and she spat at him. A wad of spit and blood smacked right onto his face, making the guy fly back and go nuts like a cat spritzed with water. He lunged forward and smacked her once more, yelling for Martinez to get her inside with the others. The Latino man shoved her inside the room with his weapon, forcefully getting her on her knees next to Maggie. Merle turned and was about to yell for Sen to get up and help, but instantly noticed that he was gone. The sword was gone as well. 

He let out a frustrated growl and shook his head, stomping his way inside to take care of business.

  
  


Maggie latched onto Glenn’s hand, shaking as Merle circled around them like a hawk.

“Well Glenn, we seem to have all that we needed from ya...Now it’s time for y’all to go. Glad we could catch up.” 

Glenn turned his head, looking to Maggie as he gripped her hand tightly.

“Just keep looking at me,” 

Maggie stared at him, tears streaking down her cheeks as she whimpered and sniffled.

“I love you,” She let out, whimpering as Martinez placed a potato sack over her head. Glenn then looked to Kei, giving her a firm nod and a determined look. Even though he tried to look brave, she could see the fear as plain as day. His face disappeared when another sack was placed over his head. Merle then looked over to Kei, a sick smile on his face. 

“You’ll be goin’ somewhere else, sweetheart,” He muttered, “When the Governor’s done with ya, you’ll be wishin' you was dead with them two.” 

Kei didn’t respond. In fact, she wasn’t even paying attention. She merely looked ahead, thinking about Daryl, wondering what he was doing now. He was probably looking out at the road from the guard tower, waiting for them all to return. Maybe he was freaking out right now, swearing his head off and demanding that they go out and look for them. Where could they look, though? Hell, _she_ didn’t even know where she was. There was no way.

Maybe this was it for her. Maybe this is where she was supposed to die. 

Perhaps it was never meant to be walkers, or starvation, or sickness. Maybe it was man. 

She swallowed the lump in her throat, and closed her eyes. She then took a breath, and did nothing as the potato sack was put over her head. 

“I’m sorry you guys,” She let out, “I’m really sorry, I tried.” 

“It’s okay, Kei,” She heard Glenn’s muffled voice speak, “It’s alright. Really, it‘s alright.” 

“On your feet, move!!” Shupert barked. 

“Come on, let’s go! Let’s go!” Another man yelled. Kei winced as a pair of strong hands grabbed onto her arms and yanked her up off the floor. She stumbled ahead blindly in front of Glenn and Maggie. They had marched them out of the room, but stopped when two small cans suddenly flew in front of them. They landed on the floor with a loud clank, making Kei jump when she saw a flash followed with a loud _BANG!_ She felt the two hands on her let go as smoke began to fill the air. She let out a cough and stumbled around, tripping over someone’s feet and falling over. She landed on her back with a thud, making her let out a loud swear in pain. She ripped the sack off her head with frustration, sputtering out a series of coughs as she looked around. Someone had set off a couple smoke grenades, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape. 

She quickly scrambled up off the floor, looking around frantically for Glenn and Maggie. She tried to call out for them, but a cough came out instead. A rough hand grabbed her arm and started pulling her away from the smoke. She turned around to clock him in the face with her free hand, but stopped when she saw the dirtied face of Rick staring right at her. 

“Come on!!” He yelled, yanking her along. She stared at him with shock and disbelief. Was he real? Was she just imagining things?

She blindly followed the leader out of the smoke and into a clear hallway. A couple bullets went off behind her, making Rick duck her head down and push her along faster. She saw Glenn stumbling ahead with Maggie in his arms. Oscar and a woman she didn’t recognize were leading on point. Daryl got behind Maggie and Glenn and turned around, holding his hand out for Kei to take. She desperately grabbed at it and let him pull her in front of him.

The group managed to make their way out of the building and onto the streets. Kei looked around in disbelief. This town looked so well put; with clean streets and sidewalks, apartments and shops still in tact. This place looked like it hadn’t been touched by the apocalypse, minus the panicking civilians in the street. They kept in the shadows as they rushed along, keeping their heads low and their steps light as they rushed over to an apartment building. 

“Inside! Quickly!” Rick rasped out. Oscar and The Woman opened up the front door. The stranger ushered everyone inside, Kei getting only a brief glimpse of her as she rushed past. She had noticed the weapon on her back. It was a Katana. 

She felt Daryl gently push her further inside. He then rushed past and began to scout the room with Oscar, looking for a way out. Maggie set Glenn down against a kitchen counter, the boy letting out labored pants in exhaustion.

“Ain’t no way out back here!” Daryl announced from the back of the room.

“Rick how did you find us?!” Maggie asked out, her voice filled with shock and confusion.

“How bad are you hurt?” The leader asked, walking past to check out the front window. He pulled the blanket curtain slightly aside and began to check the streets.

“We’ll be alright,” Glenn breathed, grunting out in pain. Kei gently patted the boy’s bruised shoulder and then looked over at Daryl. Seeing him made her heart thump in her chest with joy and relief. She got straight up and rushed into his arms, her side slightly knocking into the gun in his hands. He held her tightly with one free arm, his lips immediately finding her own as she cupped his cheeks and kissed him. He kissed back with as much fervor and desperation, relief washing over him for a brief moment. She was alive. His girl was alive and in his arms again. He pulled away for a moment, looking over her to make sure she was alright.

“What happened?” He asked out, his eyes wandering over her skin and clothes, “They hurt ya? Yer eye’s—” 

“I’m fine,” She assured, her mouth cutting him off with more desperate kisses, “I’m fine…I’m fine…” 

She pressed her lips to his once more before pulling away, holding him close and latching on as she looked around. She suddenly noticed they were short one body. 

“Where’s that woman?” She asked, watching as Rick turned and looked around as well. He let out an agitated grunt and looked back out the window.

“She was right behind us,” 

“Maybe she was spotted,” Oscar remarked.

“Want me to look for her?” Daryl asked.

“No,” Rick stated firmly, “We gotta get ‘em outta here. She’s on her own.” 

“Daryl,” Glenn panted out, making the rest of the group look over at him, “This was Merle. It was…he did this.” 

Kei unwrapped her arms from around the hunter and let him walk over to Glenn. He observed the boy’s bruised eye, swollen mouth, and blood stained skin closely. As he did so, Kei and Maggie went and fished around the house for something that Glenn could wear. 

“You saw him?” Rick asked, his eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. Maggie rushed over with a dirty blue sweatshirt. She helped Glenn slip it on as he nodded to the leader.

“Face to face,” He answered, trying to catch his breath, “He threw a walker at me, and he beat Kei around…He was gonna execute us and keep Kei hostage somewhere else.”

“S-so my brother’s this Governor?” Daryl asked, confusion filling his voice.

“No, he’s somebody else,” Maggie answered quickly, gripping Glenn’s hand tight, “Yer brother’s his lieutenant or somethin’.”

“He know I’m still with you?” The hunter inquired.

“He does now,” Glenn breathed, “Rick, I’m sorry we told him were the prison was. We couldn’t hold out.” 

“Don’t,” Rick assured, reaching over and patting Glenn’s knee, “No need to apologize.” 

Kei watched as the leader rushed back over to the window, checking the outside once more. She walked over to Daryl and huddled closely to him, looking up and seeing his hardened expression. He was trying to process all of this. 

"They're gonna be lookin for us," Maggie spoke out. Rick turned looked back at her, nodding as he pointed to Glenn.

"We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out."

Glenn nodded lightly, hissing as he moved to get up.

"I'm good…"

Daryl and Kei watched as Rick helped Maggie lift Glenn to his feet. He tore away from Kei's hold on his arm and walked up to Rick. All he could think about was Merle right now. He needed to see him. He needed to talk to him and try to make sense of the situation.

"If Merle's around I-I need to see him!" He spoke out desperately.

"Not now! We're in hostile territory," Rick argued, turning around to look at Kei, "We got a couple guns in that bag Oscar's carryin'. You three go on and grab one.”

Daryl's face grew dreaded, his eyes filled with worry as he shook his head.

"H-he's my brother, he ain’t gonna try—!"

"Look what he did!" Rick snapped sharply, "We gotta get out of here now!"

Daryl only shook his head, his eyes wide and desperate as he shook his head once more.

"He's my brother, maybe I could work somethin out!"

"No, no, no! You’re wnot thinkin' straight," Rick reasoned, his voice ragged and harsh, "No matter what Glenn or Kei say, they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out? If we get overrun by Walkers, or this Governor catches up with us? I need you! Are you with me?"

The leader's words seemed to have gotten through to the hunter. He took a brief moment to clear his head. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, nodding his head lightly. As much as he wanted to go after his brother, his people needed him more. Kei needed him. 

He looked back to Rick and lifted his rifle,

"Yeah," He answered firmly. Rick nodded to the hunter and turned back towards the window.

"Everyone, get your gear ready."

Daryl went to the supply bag and yanked out a few canisters of tear gas. Kei, Glenn, and Maggie went through the bag as well, grabbing the last three handguns. They crowded against the door and Rick grabbed onto the doorknob, looking at everyone,

"On three," He announced, "Everyone stay tight… one, two, three!"

Rick tore open the door and Daryl rushed out, tossing the tear gas out onto the different parts of the streets. The smoke erupted from the canisters and filled the air quickly. Kei closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm her racing thoughts and keep her growing fears down. Her group needed her now.

"Let's go!"

Kei shot open her eyes, raising her weapon as Glenn and Maggie crowded up next to her. Rick jumped out of the doorway with his gun raised, charging out into the streets with his group tightly formed behind him.

"There they are!" A man let out from atop of the school bus near the wall. He pointed his flashlight down at the group, signaling out to his fellow guards. Rick pulled the trigger on his gun, flooding the air with gunfire as he took down the woodbury guard. Daryl's ears rung as he ran past Rick, guiding the group across the smoke filled street. He pulled the trigger of his machine gun, releasing a hail of bullets on the group of guards that guarded the wall that blocked their path to freedom.

"Take cover! In there!" He heard Rick shout to the others. Oscar guided Kei, Maggie, and Glenn towards a doorway hidden deep against a building. Rick and Daryl returned cover fire and followed them, cramming into the safety of the small space. They slammed up against the wall as a rain of bullets were fired at the brick that protected them. 

"How many?!" Rick asked over the sound of rapid enemy fire.

"Don't matter! S'gonna be more of 'em!" Daryl let out as he opened up the gun bag, "We gotta move!" 

"Any grenades left?!" Rick asked, watching as Daryl nodded, "Get 'em ready, we gotta gun it to the wall!"

Kei watched as the hunter reached up and handed her an extra clip. She placed it in her back pocket and turned slightly out past the brick corner. She held her weapon out and fired a couple shots, managing to hit a Woodbury guard across the street in the shoulder. Daryl reached into the gun bag again and pulled out another rifle, handing it to the wounded Glenn. He then grabbed another pistol clip and gave it to Maggie.

"You guys go ahead, I’mma lay down some cover fire!" He announced.

"No! We have to stay together!" Kei commanded. She didn't like the idea of them splitting up again. She didn't want Daryl going out there by himself to protect them while they escaped. She couldn't bear to think of what would happen if he didn't make it out.

"It's too hairy… I'll be right behind ya!"

Daryl yanked the empty clip out of his gun and reached into his pocket, pulling out another. He heard loud gunshots coming from Kei's direction, glancing up to see her returning fire from around the brick corner. The sight of her made him smirk slightly on the inside, but quickly pushed it aside to focus on the task at hand. The hunter took a deep breath and pulled the ring off another smoke grenade, jumping to his feet,

"Ready!?"

He rushed out and quickly tossed it out onto the street, rushing back in towards Kei as Rick and the others readied their weapons. Rick was the first to rush out along with Maggie and Glenn, Oscar covering their back. Kei quickly rushed up to Daryl and kissed him before running out to follow suit. He grabbed the grip of his rifle and watched as Kei disappeared into the smoky haze. He took a deep breath and ran out into the smoke. He took cover behind a bench and returned cover fire, the sound of Rick's rifle shedding out bullets only feet away from him. The recoil of his assault rifle burst through Daryl's tense muscles, the empty shells of his bullets ejecting violently.

 

It was absolute chaos. All she could see through the smoke were the lights of the enemies' guns firing about. She was running blindly through the street, trying to find someone, anyone in her group. As she ran through the haze, she heard a violent scream nearby. She rushed towards the scream, keeping her head low as bullets whizzed over her head and nearly blew off her feet. She made it over to the abandoned bus where she saw Maggie kneeling next to a body. The brunette shouted violently for Rick, the leader looking over his shoulder and seeing that Oscar had been taken down by a shotgun blast to the ribs. Kei grabbed at Maggie and started pulling her away, Maggie closing her eyes and shooting Oscar in the head to make sure he didn't reanimate. Glenn yelled from atop the bus for them to hurry. They both climbed up, yelping and jumping as several bullets ricocheted off the metal hood. 

"RICK!!" Kei screamed out, instantly grabbing the attention of their leader. He rushed towards the bus, turning around every few seconds to fire a couple rounds at approaching enemies. 

Daryl gritted his teeth and shoved a full clip back into his gun, looking over to finally see Rick running towards the wall. Daryl pressed the butt of his gun back up against his shoulder, shooting back at the Woodbury men so that his leader could get there safely.

"Daryl!" Rick's voice shouted out, coming off as faint compared to all the gunfire going on. He could hear Kei's desperate cries for him coming from behind, but he paid no attention as his concentration was loyally fixated on the men shooting at him.

"GO!" He shouted back, firing off more shots at a couple men that were hiding behind the park bench a few feet away. He kept them in his sights as he continued to pump off rounds. He watched as one guy behind the bench fell backwards and laid dead on the ground. He pointed his gun at the other and pulled the trigger, listening to a loud click and seeing no bullets coming out. The man cursed mentally to himself, yanking out the magazine and noticing it was empty. 

"Shit," He hissed out, pressing the magazine back in. He looked over his shoulder, seeing that Rick and the others had made it safely over the wall. He mentally sighed in relief, shouldering his gun as he quickly stood to his feet. He pulled out his pistol and cocked it back, backing up towards the wall as he fired a couple shots to approaching enemies ahead of him.

"Don't move!" A few men shouted viciously.

Daryl froze and looked to his left. A group of 3 men began approaching him, another group of three approaching him from his right. Six rifles stared him in the face, the hunter turning from left to right with his weapon pointed right back at them.

"Put the gun down!" One of the men shouted. Daryl hesitated for a moment before he bitterly dropped his pistol and put his hands up, earning a sudden blow to the head by one large fist. His vision flashed hot white and he stumbled onto the ground, his head smacking onto the pavement. Several sets of hands latched onto his arms and clothing and yanked him back up. Six Woodbury men dragged him through the street and brought him over to where Kei and his friends had just escaped from. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21 days until The Walking Dead Season 4!  
> AND 18 DAYS UNTIL NEW YORK COMIC CON! Wooooo!  
> Oh gosh, I'm so excited! I just got my badge! This'll be my first comic con ever! Eeeee!!  
> I hope everyone's doing well, and enjoying their weekend. xx


	31. The Suicide King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm going back,"
> 
> Merle's eyebrows knitted together, his lips pursing to a thin line as he watched his brother walk away.
> 
> "You can't," He let out.
> 
> "I can and I am," He heard him say, continuing on back in the Prison's direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9 DAYS UNTIL THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 4 
> 
> woooo!!

Kei rushed through the dark along the metal wall. She followed closely behind Rick as he lead them over to the confines of a couple large trees and some abandoned cars. They were just outside the gates of that god forsaken town, and they were waiting for one hunter to come back out and meet them.

“Get down!” Rick hissed, crouching low behind the abandoned car.

Kei knelt down and kept her body low on the cool, wet grass. Glenn and Maggie did as well, the brunette keeping her body close to Glenn‘s as he panted and gasped quietly in pain. The dark haired girl watched as guards up on the wall pointed search lights out across the abandoned parking lot that ran between them. She prayed silently to herself, asking God over and over to spare Daryl. Spare him and let him make it out alive. 

“Come on, Daryl,” Rick muttered as he reloaded his pistol. His voice was just as desperate as Kei’s inner prayer with herself. He wanted Daryl to come out unscathed just as badly as she did.

Grass suddenly shifted behind them. The three of them turned around sharply, seeing a figure crawl out from underneath the metal wall behind them. Kei recognized the figure instantly. It was the woman with the Katana. The woman that broke away when they needed her the most. 

Rick cocked his pistol and rushed over, standing up straight in the dark with his gun aimed right at her. Maggie, Glenn and Kei got up as well, pointing their weapons at the woman from all sides.

“Where the hell were you?” Rick growled, his voice low and menacing. Kei looked at the woman, noticing something shiny running down from her forehead to her nose and mouth. She was bleeding, and pretty badly. Her clothes were sopping wet, and she was covered in cuts on her arms and legs. The girl furrowed in burning curiousity. What on earth happened to her?

She struggled a bit, but managed to get up firmly to her feet. When she did so, Rick stepped closer, his gun never leaving the level of where her forehead was. 

“Put your hands up,” He demanded, watching as the woman did so without a word, “Turn around…Turn around!”

Kei watched her as she turned around, limping slightly in the process as her katana faced the leader. He carefully slid the sword out of it’s sheath, holding it to his side as he backed her up against the wall. The minute her arms fell to her sides, so did his gun. He looked at her,

“Get what you came for?” He asked, his voice satirical and bitter.

“Where are the rest of your people?” She asked, ignoring his comment.

“They got Oscar,” Glenn growled bitterly.

“Daryl’s missin,” Maggie spoke.

“You didn’t see him?” Kei asked before the brunette girl even got the chance. The woman looked to her, shaking her head as Rick got up in her face.

“If anythin happens to him, I will k—” 

“I brought you here to save them,” She interrupted, staring at him firmly as he paced like an angry wolf. Kei watched as his eyes bore into the woman‘s. A clear sense of mistrust and anger was growing within him. The woman however looked surprisingly neutral, almost numb in a sense.

“Thanks for the help,” Rick muttered, watching as the woman’s expression changed slightly. 

“You’ll need help,” She spoke out, looking to the other three around her, “To get them back to the prison…or, t-to go back in there for Daryl…” 

Kei looked to Rick, watching as the two participated once more in a staring match. They were no longer trying to size each other up or look as intimidating as possible. They were trying to read each other, see what the other was thinking. 

“Either way,” She breathed, her eyes wide with obvious desperation, “You need me…”

* * *

 

Daryl's heavy boots scuffed across the dirt floor as he turned every which way. He stared at all the furious Woodbury survivors in the arena. They shouted at him, spat at him, screaming demands for execution because of his so-called "crimes". Daryl's blue eyes looked over to Merle. He stared at his older brother, fear and desperation flashing across his face. He needed help now, he needed his big brother now more than ever. Merle looked to him, but the older Dixon didn't respond in a way that Daryl would've liked. His sqaure jaw merely tightened and he looked away towards the one eyed man. The Governor circled them like the leader of a wolf pack, the make shift eyepatch across his most recent injury made him look more intimidating. The two brothers watched as the Governor gave them a twisted grin, the shouts of hatred from his people in the background seeming to give him fuel.

Daryl swallowed hard and tried his best to calm his racing heartbeat. It was no use. He was lost. He didn't know what to do. There was no way out. He was going to die here. He was going to die with Merle, who he hasn't seen in almost a year, and that would be it. He'd die here, and be permanently seperated from the Group, from Lil Ass Kicker, from the forests, and from Kei. He would die here, and he'd be seperated from her forever.

The thought of her stayed on his mind as all the angry civilians continued to shout and harass him. For a minute, all he could think about was Kei, and her smile, and her goofy laugh. He hoped that she made it back to the car with the others, and that Rick and Oscar were keeping her safe. As long as she was alive and safe, getting captured was worth it.

Still, he couldn't help but wish that he could of seen her smiling before he died, or at least kiss her once more for the last time. God, to get a kiss from her again, it seemed like the most heavenly thing in the world. It made his desire to live that much stronger. 

He needed to get back. 

He needed Merle to help him get back.

"It's not up to me anymore, the people have spoken!"

Daryl's attention snapped back to The Governor, his eyes catching Andrea as she struggled to get free from a spectacled man's grasp. Daryl yanked at the duct tape around his wrists in attempts to pry it off, but it was no use.

"I asked you where your loyalty lied, and you said here!" The Governor shouted towards Merle. Daryl felt a pair of strong hands grab his own and swiftly cut the duct tape binding his wrists. The brunette caught a glance at the surly man with dark skin and thick muscles behind him, instantly noticing his crossbow gripped tightly in his large hands. Daryl rolled his shoulder and shifted his leather vest back on as he glared over at Woodbury's leader.

"Prove it. Prove it to us all!" He shouted, his voice authoritative and grandiose, "Brother against brother, winner goes free...A fight! To the death!"

Loud cheers and cries erupted from the crowd in response. The fearful victims known as Woodbury's own were no more. A crowd of vultures and wolves stood in their place, and they were just begging for their pound of flesh.

Daryl looked over to Merle, watching him carefully. He personaly had no intention of fighting his brother just to please this sick crowd. The strange look on Merle's face, however, started making him wary. Merle eyed his brother up and down, almost scanning him as if he were observing a threat. Daryl shifted, worry and disbelief flashing across his dirty face. He hadn't seen his older brother in almost a year, but surely that didn't get in the way of the truth; they were blood, and blood was thicker than water. 

People began to scream Merle's name. Merle faced them and threw his hand up in the air, walking around proudly before standing in front of Daryl.

"Ay, y'all know me!" He let out loudly, "I gotta do whatever I gotta do… to prove-!"

Daryl's breath suddenly left him as Merle turned and slammed his large fist into his stomach, knocking him to the dirt. The younger Dixon gasped and squirmed on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. Merle stared down at his baby brother, slamming his foot into Daryl's ribs as he attempted to get up.

"That my loyalty-! Is to this town!"

Daryl rolled to the edge of the crowd and opened his eyes. His vision blurred and his eyes stung with tears that he tried his hardest to keep in. He felt Merle grab his vest and yank him up before slamming his fist into his cheek. Daryl's head flung back and smacked against the dirt as he hit the ground again. Merle delivered one blow after another, kicking Daryl in the torso, making his lungs sting and his heart skip a beat. The brunette gasped and sputtered desperately for air as Merle yanked him up and then violently threw him on his back. The hunter looked up at Merle's face. It was dark with determination, and he was clearly thinking about his next move. Daryl advantage of that and brought his fist up into Merle's cheek, knocking him back.

The hunter scrambled to his feet and lunged at Merle, but the older Dixon jumped to the side and knocked him back to the dirt. Merle stepped forward and hovered over him, getting down on one knee and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Daryl instinctively latched onto Merle's neck and gripped hard, looking up into his brother's wild eyes.

"You really think this asshole's gonna let you go!?" He choked out. Merle struggled to breathe through his brother's tight fingers as they dug into his throat,

"Follow my lead, little brother!" He grunted through his teeth, "We're gettin' outta this...right now!"

Merle suddenly let go and hoisted Daryl up. Daryl quickly recovered and planted himself firmly on his feet. He stood back-to-back with Merle, their arms raised against those of Walkers that surrounded them. The men of Woodbury controlling the Walkers slowly began to loosen their chains, allowing the creatures to close in on them. Daryl watched the three in front of him closely, dodging their desperate and wild hands as they snarled and gnashed at him out of hunger.

Daryl pulled his fist back and lunged forward, striking the face of a Walker that had come in real close. He could feel the Walker's jaw bones break against his knuckles. He grabbed the Walker's clothing and shoved it into the living crowd, the woodbury survivors yelling and gasping in shock.

Merle lunged out towards another Walker and struck at it with his metal stub, bashing it's skull into mush before he shuffled back up against Daryl. The two brothers stayed back to back and kept light on their feet, keeping an eye on the Walkers that were riled up and closing in fast. Merle kicked and scrapped with anything that came within hitting distance of him. Daryl's eyes locked onto the Walker in front of him, his legs ready to jump forward to attack like a viper. 

His was cut off mid-leap when he heard a gunshot. Daryl immediately stopped. Merle instinctively threw his hands over his head, falling to his knees as everyone began to scream around him. Daryl looked over to see the walker he was about to attack lying dead on the ground, a bullet hole in the center of it's forehead. More gunshots suddenly went off and he quickly hit the dirt. He looked around frantically, trying to find the face of someone from his own group. Smoke suddenly filled the pit around the screaming crowd as they began to scatter in panic. They ran around in hysteria, trying to avoid the gunfire, along with the walkers that had been unleashed once their handlers ran off.

Daryl and Merle stayed close to one another, watching as all hell broke loose around them. The lights around the arena exploded, showering them all in sparks before shutting off and darkening the fighting pit. Guards of Woodbury held up their guns and attempted to find the terrorists in the haze, but the darkness and mass hysteria from the scattered crowd proved to be a perfect mask for their enemy.

Daryl and Merle jumped up once the smoke was thick enough, weaving their way around all the hysterical people. A Walker jumped out in front of Merle and grabbed it by the collar with his good hand, shoving the ceature to the ground with amazing strength. The older Dixon knelt down and smashed its face in with his metal stub, Daryl running ahead through the haze. He managed to find an opening in the smoke and looked over his shoulder, seeing Merle's head turning frantically from side to side.

"Merle, come on!" He shouted out. Merle turnd and stood up quickly, running after his little brother and following him through all the chaos. Daryl weaved back and forth, his eyes narrowing when he saw the large man with his crossbow firing a bolt through the head of a Walker. Rushing towards him, Daryl swiftly latched onto his weapon and yanked it straight out of the man's hands. He did it without missing a beat. As the younger Dixon rushed past, Merle smacked his metal stump against the back of the Woodbury Guard's head, knocking him out cold as he ran by.

"Daryl!" 

Rick's voice ran in Daryl's ears as he ran with the crowd of panicked survivors. His eyes caught sight of a flashlight pointing right at him and he ran straight towards it. He saw Rick, Maggie, and Kei standing close to the corner of a building with rifles at hand, Woodbury survivors completely oblivious to their presence. They all just ran out towards the main street and began scattering every which way, screaming their heads off. As he approached the corner, Daryl reached out and Kei latched onto his arm for dear life. She pulled him away and Rick lead them all through the crowd, weaving around people as they bolted for safety. Daryl watched as Merle ran past him and rounded the corner of a tall building, taking off down the street towards the wall lined with buses and trucks. Rick held his rifle up and looked every which way for danger while Merle looked around for an easy escape route,

"They're all at the arena, this way!" He shouted.

"You're not goin' anywhere with us!" Rick barked.

"You really wanna do this now!?" Merle barked back before turning around. He rushed up to a rusted patch of the metal fence and started kicking it open like his life depended on it. Rick stared over at Merle bitterly before grunting and looking back through the scope of his rifle. Daryl looked from his leader over to Maggie and Kei, and suddenly realized that it was in fact them two who came to rescue him. Before he could open his mouth to object, Kei rushed up to him and grabbed his neck, quickly pulling him in and planting a desperate kiss on his lips. He made no refusal and kissed her back just as hard, a small wave of relief washing over him. He pulled away and looked over his shoulder, seeing that Merle had pried apart an opening for them to squeeze through. 

"Door's open, y'all! We gotta go!" His brother barked from the other side of the fence. Daryl turned and slipped through the opening, holding it open as Kei, Maggie, and Rick slipped out after him. The hunter could hear the sounds of snarling and Merle's grunting, and turned just as he beat a Walker's head in with his stump. More were staggering out from the dark and herding towards them, attracted to all the chaos and the noise that was coming from the other side of the wall.

"A little help would be nice!" Merle called.

Daryl turned away from his group and raised his crossbow, pulling the trigger and planting a bolt in between a Walker's eyes. The hunter flinched slightly at the sound of gunshots behind him. He turned around to see Kei, Rick, and Maggie firing their handguns at three more Walkers.

"We ain't got time for this!" Merle's raspy voice shouted. He took to the sidewalk and ran off down the street, Daryl looking back at Rick and the girls as they stared at him. His eyes flicked to the ground before he turned and followed his brother into the dark without a word. The three prison-goers looked to each other wordlessly before rushing forward, following closely behind the Dixon brothers.

  
  


"Glenn!"

Kei listened as Rick hissed sharply towards the spot where Michonne and Glenn were waiting with the car. Early morning had come, and sunlight swept across the forest. 

Kei saw Glenn jogging towards them, Rick moving forward quickly and putting up his hands. Everyone knew what was in store for them as soon as Glenn's eyes laid on Merle. Michonne's reaction was similar, if not worse. Daryl tried to keep himself in front of Merle as the two began to approach them with their eyes wide and expressions bitter.

"Now we got a problem here, I need you to back up!" Rick called with his hands out.

"What the hell is he doing here!?" Glenn shouted bitterly. He raised his gun and pointed it over to Merle's head, Michonne swiftly getting out her sword and pointing it in the same direction. Maggie put a hand on Glenn's chest to try and calm him while Daryl stood defensively in front of Merle. Rick stood in front of Michonne and held his hand out.

"Put it down!" He shouted.

"He tried to kill me!" Michonne shouted back. 

"Get that thing outta my face!" Daryl barked, eyeing Glenn bitterly as he kept his gun raised.

"Do you know what he did to us?!" Glenn shouted, "Do you know what he did!?" 

"Glenn! You need to calm down! Glenn!" Maggie reached out and latched onto his arm as he attempted to step forward towards Merle. Daryl stepped forward as well, his nostrils flaring as Kei latched onto wrist.

"Guys! Both of you! Quit it!" She barked, attempting to step between the two of them.

Their shouting began to mesh together, words becoming nearly incomprehensible as they continued to yell and scream at each other. Rick shoved his gun to Michonne's head and Daryl stood firm against Glenn and his shouts.

"Look at what he did!" He shouted, pointing over to Maggie and Kei, "If it wasn't for him, those two could have been—"

"He helped us get outta there! Put it down!" Daryl barked.

"Right after he beat the shit out of you!" Rick bit, his pistol never leaving Michonne as he turned to look back at the hunter.

"Hey! We both took our licks, man!" Merle smirked in amusement and put his hand up, staring past the pistol in Glenn's hand and into the man's dark eyes. Daryl looked back at Merle; the thought of letting Glenn have at his brother seeming like a good idea.

"Jackass," He muttered.

"Hey, shut up!" Merle spat. Rick whipped around and stared daggers at the older Dixon.

"Enough!"

Michonne took the chance and lunged after Merle. Rick stopped her short and stood in her way. With Merle backed against a tree, he rose his hands in the air defensively, chuckling over at Rick,

"Woah, you gonna cuff me!?"

"Man, shut up!" Daryl spat. He turned back around to face Glenn, swiping his hand at him irately, getting real tired of the situation real fast, "And get that gun outta my face!"

"Enough!" Kei yelled, managing to interrupt Glenn before he could get a few fighting words in.

Kei perked up when she heard Merle snickering from behind her. She and Daryl turned back around to face him,

"Looks like you've gone native, brother!" His older brother whooped.

"No more than you hangin' out with that psycho back there!" Daryl argued, charging up to him and getting up in his face. Merle scratched the side of his head and scoffed, shaking his head at the thought of the man.

"Yeah man… he is a charmer, I'll tell ya that," Merle looked over to Michonne, an impish smirk growing on his face, "Been puttin' the wood to your girlfriend Andrea, big time baby!"

The older Dixon stared at Michonne playfully, circling his tongue along his bottom lip and moaning. Kei furrowed and turned around sharply, looking to the woman with the katana.

"Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked, his eyes darting back and forth frantically from each of his group members. Daryl nodded at him,

"Right next to The Governor."

With a shuffle, Daryl quickly jumped in front of Merle. Michonne attempted to lunge at him once again. Rick gritted his teeth and shoved the sword down,

"I told you to drop that!" He jeered, his eyes glaring at Michonne's hectic face. His head tilted slightly, "You know Andrea?"

Michonne ignored him. She didn't bother to make eye contact with the leader. She only saw Merle. She stared at older Dixon brother with nothing but hatred and disgust. Rick leaned in front of her face, trying to grab her attention once more,

"Hey, do you know Andrea?"

"Yeaup! She does… her n' Blondie spent _all_ winter cuddlin' up in the forest… mmm mm mmm!" Merle's eyes wandered up and down Michonne's frame before going back up to her pissed off expression, "Yeah, my Nubian queen here had two pet Walkers! No arms, cut off the jaws, kept 'em in chains… kinda ironic now that I think about it-"

"Shut up, bro!" Daryl shouted out. He turned to face Merle. His older brother only smiled at his little brother's petty attempts to shut his mouth. Merle shook his head and rose his hands,

"Hey man, we snatched em up outta the woods. Andrea was close to dyin'."

Kei looked to Michonne, observing her as the others continued to ask questions.

"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asked. Merle smirked in amusement, his words slithering softly off his tongue.

"Yeap… snug as two little bugs…" His eyes darted over to Rick, "So whatcha gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards, man!"

"Shut up!" Rick barked, looking back at him as Merle chuckled to himself. A sly grin stretched across his thin cheeks. Kei furrowed bitterly, the grip on her handgun growing even tighter. She watched as Merle eyed Rick up and down, looking amused as all hell.

"Oh man, look at this… pathetic!” He let out, “All these guns and no bullets in me!?"

"Daryl…" Rick’s voice was low but Daryl had already turned back around, glaring at Merle and stepping forward towards him. His jaw clenched and he gripped the strap of his crossbow tightly, this being his final warning to his older brother before he officially lost it.

"Merle, SHUT UP!" He barked.

Merle shot off the tree and came within inches from Daryl's face, not phased in the slightest by his brother's warnings.

"Why don't you shut up yourself?!" He snapped, "A bunch of pussies you're rollin' wi-!"

Merle suddenly jerked forward and fell over with a loud thud. Rick had already beaten Daryl and the others to the punch, or rather a blow to the back of the head with the butt of his gun. He looked over to Daryl, the younger Dixon giving him a small nod. Rick hovered over the older Dixon, the grip on his gun tight as he looked down at him bitterly,

"Asshole…"

* * *

 

About fifty feet away from the Hyundai, the rest of the group circled around each other, leaving Michonne at the car, and Merle blacked out next to the tree where he fell.

"What're we gonna do with him?" Kei asked while briefly looking at Daryl and Rick. Daryl shook his head,

"There ain't no debatin'… I ain't leavin' my brother, we gotta bring him in."

"It won't work…" Rick looked to Daryl and the hunter began to chew on the inside of his lip nervously.

"It's gotta," He spoke.

"He'll stir things up," Rick reasoned.

Daryl took a few steps towards the leader, trying to make a case for his brother.

"Look, The Governor's probably on his way to the prison right now," He reasoned, looking to each of them, "Merle knows how he thinks, and we could use the muscle."

Maggie shook her head firmly, looking to Daryl softly as she said her piece.

"We're not havin' him at the prison-" 

"He had a gun to our heads," Glenn quickly cut in, "Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol, Beth, and Kei!?"

"He ain't a rapist," Daryl stated.

"Well his buddy is!" Glenn argued, ignoring Kei's stare and Maggie's shocked look at him. Daryl shook his head,

"They ain't buddies no more," He argued back, "Not after last night."

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without puttin' everyone at each other's throats," Rick reasoned.

"So you gonna cut Merle loose, but bring the last samurai home with us!?"

Daryl pointed towards Michonne who was watching them from afar. Rick put his hand up,

"She's not comin' back," He assured.

"She's not in a state to be on her own," Maggie vouched. Kei and Glenn nodded, the dark haired girl looking to Rick and speaking in a soft tone.

"She did bring you guys to us," She reasoned.

"And then ditched us," Rick retorted.

"At least let my dad stitch her up?" Maggie offered. Rick shook his head, looking back at Michonne,

"She's too unpredictable."

"S'right, we don't know who she is," Daryl agreed, "But Merle, Merle's blood."

"No, Merle's _your_ blood," Glenn stated firmly, "My blood, my family is standing right here, and waiting for us back at the prison!"

"And you're part of that family," Rick added, looking at the hunter firmly in the eyes, meaning every word of it, "But he's not...He's not." 

Kei looked to Daryl and could see him being torn in half. His jaw bobbed lightly as he chewed on his lip, his eyes flicking to the ground before looking to Rick. Kei suddenly noticed movement and looked over to the forest. Daryl must've noticed as well. He turned his head and watched as his older brother stood to his feet, rubbing his face and leaning against the tree with a groan. Daryl shook his head, his voice suddenly lower and raspier, like when she had first met him.

"Man, ya'll don't know!"

Daryl and Rick's eyes locked for what seemed like ages. Kei knew at that moment that Rick's mind was made up. Daryl knew it too. The man would stay firm with his decision, and there was no way around it. The hunter huffed through his nose,

"Fine," He let out, the words suddenly heavy on his tongue, "We'll fend for ourselves."

Kei snapped her head around and looked at the hunter. Her eyes widened slightly as Glenn took a step forward.

"Wait, that's not what I was saying—”

"No him, no me," Daryl said firmly. His words hit Glenn and the others hard. Kei's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to process his decision. 

"Daryl, you don't have to do that!" Maggie insisted.

"Was always Merle and I before all this," Daryl remarked.

"Don't…" She begged. Glenn stared at Daryl in disbelief,

"Are you serious? You just gonna us leave like that?"

"You'd do the same thing," Daryl argued.

"What do you want us to tell Carol?!" He asked, his voice a mix of desperation and anger. Daryl didn't seem to mind it as much, his voice simply softened as he nodded his head.

"She'll understand," 

The group was at a loss for words. Rick and Kei stared at the hunter in disbelief. This wasn't happening. Was he serious? He was just going to...leave? Just like that? With Merle no less? Daryl stared over at Rick, the silence and tension between them thick. Daryl's lips curled inwards as he nodded and looked to Maggie.

"Say goodbye to your pop for me,"

He walked back towards the Hyundai and brushed past Glenn, Maggie, and Kei. Maggie briefly touched his wrist with a soft "Daryl," and tried to get him to stop, but he just kept walking. The others trailed after him, their voices turning more desperate by the minute. Kei remained silent the whole time, watching his back, staring at the angel wings on his vest as the others begged and pleaded around her.

"Daryl, are you serious?!" Glenn asked, watching as the hunter wordlessly trekked on, "Daryl!"

Rick trotted past Glenn and Maggie and stood up next Daryl. Kei stopped in her tracks and watched as the two men continued on towards the car.

 

"There's gotta be another way."

The two stopped and stared at each other once more. Daryl searched Rick's expression for a moment before shaking his head, continuing on towards the vehicle,

"Don't ask me to leave him, I already did that once…"

The two marched side by side past Michonne and over to the trunk. Daryl grabbed the latch of the back door and yanked it open. The very sight of it hit Rick like a ton of bricks, and high desperation kicked in for him.

"Look, we started something last night. You realize that?"

"No him, no me. That's all I can say," He said plainly, his hand grabbing his rucksack and yanking it out. He opened it up to check his supplies, averting his eyes away from Rick's panicked expression. The leader looked from Daryl to Merle, and then back to Daryl. He was torn. He didn't know what to do right now, and he wished someone would just come tell him what he should do.

Shane was always good at that.

Rick shut his eyes briefly and pushed the image of his friend further back in his mind. He opened his eyes and stared at Daryl, swallowing hard as he placed his hands on his hips.

"What about Kei...Daryl,"

Daryl stopped and looked at him, seeing the turmoil brewing in the leaders blue eyes. Rick avoided his stare, dipping his head as he went on,

"What about her?" He repeated, "She...She depends on you. We all do, but she..."

The words caught in his throat. He knew that Kei would be okay somehow, but he was desperate and he needed Daryl and he didn't know how else to convince him. The hunter stared down at the backpack, closing his eyes briefly. He wanted to turn around and look at the girl once more and try to tell her it'd be okay, but he knew that once he looked at her, he would never want to leave her. If he looked at her, leaving her would hurt that much more.

But blood was thicker than water.

"And I don't know what she's going to do once you're gone… the kind of mindset it'll put her in," He reasoned, "You saw her, all the blood on her clothes and the look on her face...God knows what the Governor did to her, what he was _going_ to do to her if he kept her hostage…" 

Daryl reopened his eyes and looked to Rick before looking back down at his bag.

"Take care of yourself… take care of Lil' Ass kicker...and Carl," Daryl wrapped the strap of his bag over his shoulder and nodded, "He's one tough kid."

Rick's eyes fell in defeat as Daryl stepped back and turned his body towards the woods. He stared at the leader once more before turning his head towards the road. There she stood, smack dab in the middle, with Glenn and Maggie further behind her. Her clothes were dirty with blood and sweat, and her eyes were wide. God, she looked so lost, like she was caught in something and she didn't know what to do or how to function. He could see the words catching in her throat. She didn't know what to say, and neither did he. 

Without another word, Daryl turned and walked off towards Merle. He glanced back at Rick and the others one last time before stepping up next to his brother. Rick watched him walk away broken-hearted, looking caught between a rock and a hard place. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and turned. Kei was rushing towards the forest line, just stopping at the edge of the road.

"Daryl!" She called out, her voice sounding completely foreign to the leader. She sounded desperate, yes, but desperate like a child, like she was being yanked away from the most precious thing in the world. He watched as Daryl simply carried on. He didn't acknowledge her. He only walked past Merle, and the older Dixon wrapped his arm around his little brother with a smile. She rushed up to the forest line but suddenly stopped, as if the very thought of her group had yanked her back and held her there.

"Daryl, please!" She let out, “Daryl!”

"Come on bro…" She heard him mutter out. Her breathing grew erratic and her broken heart thumped loudly in her chest. “ _Come back_ ,” she thought, “ _Please, come back._ ”

“Daryl!” She shouted out once more. She watched was Merle turned his head and looked at her, giving her a smug smile as his little brother pulled him along.

* * *

 

Kei remained silent as she watched the world roll past through her window. Daryl was gone. Of course he was gone. They always left. If her family were alive, and they wanted her to come with, she probably would’ve gone too. 

But her family wasn’t alive. 

They were all dead, and Daryl left her and the others for his brother. The worthless wad of shit that nearly killed Glenn and Maggie. He hurt her. He hurt _his girl_. Were it any other guy that hurt her, he would've clawed their damn face off and brought back the head for her. Clearly, Merle was worth more to Daryl than all of them combined, and that thought alone made her blood boil. She put her thumb to her lip and chewed on the nail. Daryl left, that asshole.

“ _How could he do that_ ,” She thought, “ _After all that we’ve been through. How the fuck could he just leave like that._ ” 

She wanted to punch him. She wanted to just yell and run up to him and whack him across the jaw. She wanted to hit Merle too. Oh, did she want to hit him. She just wanted to kick his ass and knock him into hell. That for her, would be a pleasure.

“Hey!” She heard a muffled voice yell, “Heeey!!” 

Kei snapped out of her thoughts and looked back out the window. She saw someone out on the road, someone living. He was tall and skinny and carrying a long skinny bo staff on his back. He waved frantically at the Hyundai, watching as they sped by.

“We’re gonna keep going,” Rick muttered to the group. No one said a word, and Kei watched as they whizzed past. Her eyes widened when she noticed what was in his hands.

Her katana. 

“STOP!” She screamed out suddenly, making everyone jump as Rick put the car to a screeching halt. She opened up the door as quick as lightning, ignoring Glenn and Maggie’s yells as she bolted out of the car. She ran down the road and charged at the survivor with her weapon.

"Keiko-chan!" [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=68846948&lid=1950767) yelled, his grin wide and bright as he held his arms out, “You made it out! You—whoa. WhoawhoaWHOA—”

He let out a loud OOMPH! as Kei charged him and whipped around, lifting her leg up and kicking him square in the chest. He flew backwards and fell hard right on his back. He sputtered out a cough and held his chest as he writhed around on the road. He let out a loud “Ow!” as Kei sat herself down on his stomach. She grabbed his coat collar and yanked him up before slamming him back down.

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” She yelled, yanking him up and slamming him down repeatedly.

“Wha-at-did-I-do!?” He let out.

“Where the hell did you go?!” She spat, gripping his shoulders and pinning him down into the asphalt. Sen took hold of her wrists and tried to pry her off of him. He was kind of surprised by her sudden surge of strength. Now that he got a good look at her, she had gotten pretty muscular since the world had ended.

" _Nan da yo?! Yamero-yo!_ " Sen shouted.  
(What the hell?! Stop it!)

" _Damatte yo! Bukkorosu!_ " Kei shouted back.  
(Shut up! I'm gonna kick your ass!)

" _Te-o dokete-yo!_ " Sen cried, gripping her wrists in attempts to pry her off again.  
(Take your hands off!)

"Kei!" The two heard Rick yell. The two friends turned their heads and watched as Rick, Glenn, and Maggie rushed up to them. Rick stepped forward to intervene, but stopped when Kei gave him an animalistic snarl.

"Back off!" She spat, turning her head to look back down at Sen, "Where the hell were you?! When Merle and his men were about to kill us, where were you?!" 

"I went to shut the lights off!" He sputtered out, looking to the rest of her group with wide eyes, "That guy knocked me out! That guy there!"

Kei followed to where Sen was pointing and looked over at Rick. The lanky brunette looked down at the Asian boy pinned to the ground, tilting his head slightly. 

"You were at Woodbury," He remarked, seemingly remembering the guy's face.

"Yeah, I was!" Sen panted, "I was planning on shutting off the lights and escaping with you three in the dark. Of course, that plan went to shit when the rest of you busted in with guns blazing—" 

"Bullshit!" Glenn jeered, "You were in with Merle and the others! He was gonna execute us!" 

"No!" Kei let out, looking down at her friend beneath her, "He wasn't. He was helping me escape...somewhat."

The rest of her group looked from the boy on the ground over to her, surprise and curiousity on each of their faces.

"This is Sen," She told her group, staring down at him with dull eyes, "The friend I was planning to meet at Fort Benning before they got overrun." 

Sen looked up at his best friend in slight awe. Who on earth was this girl? This animal that wore the blood of her enemies like armor, and was willing to end her best friend's life for a group of strangers? His Keiko wasn't so cold and empty. This Keiko was so broken and angry—and even though she had put up her walls, he could see that she was just as vulnerable. She slid off of him and stood up, watching as he panted and quickly scrambled to his feet. She looked at him sternly and held out her hand. 

"Sword," She demanded, watching his most classic smirk form on his lips.

"Magic word?" He asked. His smug grin dropped when he got her deadpan look in response. He let out a huff and bent over, picking her weapon up off the ground and handing it to her. He flinched when he saw her move with it, internally sighing with relief when she simply shouldered the strap. He rubbed his aching chest and scoffed lightly. 

"Should've known you would've gone for the spin kick," He mused, "Always your go-to move when you're pissed at me. I think you cracked my sternu-"

"Let's go," He heard Kei mutter to her group. The four of them turned away from the Woodbury survivor and started making their way back to the Hyundai. Sen's mouth dropped and he trailed after them.

"Whoa! Hey hold up!" He called, "Can't I get in with you guys?! I'm good with a gun, and a complete boss when it comes to melee fighting!"

No response. They just kept walking, and Sen started panicking. They were almost to the car, he had to think fast. What was it that he brought? He had brought something with to try and get in good with them...

"I have extra ammo!" He called out, "And food! A bunch of food!" 

Rick stopped in his tracks. Bingo. The leader turned around with the others, and Sen quickly dropped his rucksack. He opened it up and pulled out a can of beans and a box of bullets. He held them high in the air and smiled when he knew he had gotten their attention. Rick turned on his heel and walked forward, the others following suit. The leader walked up to the bag, hovering over it and cautiously looking inside.

"There's more, there's more in here," Sen assured, digging through the bag and showing him cans and boxes, "I swiped it from Woodbury's stock shelves. A token to show loyalty." 

Rick eyed Sen's findings and nodded lightly. Sen could tell he was a little impressed.

"I could even go back there," He offered out, pitching himself like an expert salesman, "In and out of the stock room, take whatever I can get. I'm good at that sort of thing. No one knows I'm even gone."

"How do we know you just won't go back and stay there, huh?" Glenn asked.

"My loyalty's with Kei," He replied honestly, "We were supposed to meet at Fort Benning when all this started, and now that I found her, I'm not losing her again. Wherever she goes, I go. Whoever she's cool with, I'm cool with."

Rick eyed him up and down before looking over to Kei. He looked at her, wordlessly asking for what she had say. She looked over at Sen, and the boy could tell that his words had some effect on her. The smallest and faintest of smiles was on her face.

"He can stay in the security wing with Michonne," She stated, "He already knows where we're heading, we'll take him for now."

Rick nodded to her proposal and turned away with Maggie. The two of them started to making their way back while Glenn stepped forward. He grabbed the rucksack of food and ammo, eyeing Sen up and down before turning away. The tall Asian followed and stood close to his best friend. He sat next to her in the car, a small sense of relief washing over him when the car started moving. Even though Kei kept her eyes towards the window, her hand had placed itself in his. Their fingers laced together, and Sen couldn't help but smile. It was her little way of saying "I missed you." Kei smiled lightly when she felt his hand squeeze hers, it was his way of saying "I missed you too." 

 

_It really was a paradise. A grassy green field, white capped mountains, healthy trees, and fresh cold water. Everything looked so new, so full of life. This place was nothing like the one she had been used to. Everything was beautiful, and untouched by plague and death. The girl stood atop a grassy hill and looked down at the field below. That’s where she saw them, a group of people, looking up at her. Her grandparents, her mom and dad, and Lori. All of them were alive and well, wearing formal clothing with happy smiles on their faces. A little girl with long dark hair started running towards her. She was barefoot and wore a bright red dress, similar to the one Kei herself wore when she was a little girl. It wasn’t her eight year old self she was looking at. It was Miho, and she was almost to the top of the hill. Kei ran forward and picked her up, holding her with a smile brighter than the sun on her face._

_And that was when the world started to go dark._

_She watched as her little sister started to change. Her smile still remained, but everything that she was began to decay. Her body had turned to ash, her skin turning grey and flaking away with the wind. The world around her grew dark and dreary. Everything that was once green and teeming with life was now dead and burned down to nothing. Flakes of soot littered the air, falling from the black and grey clouds like snow. Kei watched with wide eyes as her sister crumbled in her hands. She gripped onto what was left of the soft, chalky residue and looked to her right. Her grandmother, her parents, and Lori had all crumbled away into nothing._

_Her tear filled eyes watched as grey flakes of ash began to slowly collect and attach itself to her own skin. She furiously rubbed and scratched at it, but the ash continued to climb up and build on her arms and legs. She fell to her knees in defeat, landing onto the ground as she tried to wipe her hands of her family and Lori‘s ashes. No matter how hard she tried to wipe it away, the chalky residue still stuck. It had marked her. She stared down at her ash covered hands and opened up her chalky grey palms. Miho’s lucky keychain in one hand, and two silver rings in the other. She could still see it: Her sister’s toothy smile, her big brown eyes._

_She stared at the wedding rings, both covered in ash, one with flecks of blood on it. Tears filled her eyes and she screwed them shut. Her breathing grew ragged as she tried everything to keep herself from crying. It was no use. She could still see Lori. Her gentle face and loving smile replayed in her mind over and over like a movie reel on loop. She took a deep shaky breath, trying to push the images of Lori and her screams out of her head. She tried to remember something good. She tried to remember how happy she was with Rick and Carl._  
  
That just made the pain worse. 

_Her grip on the rings grew tighter. She opened her eyes as thunder began to roll across the sky. She looked around at the burned world around her. Nothing but blackness and death. That’s all it would be unless she did something. It was no use crying. Tears wouldn’t bring Lori back. Tears wouldn’t brink Miho or her family back._

_She closed her eyes again. Coming from nowhere, she could hear the sounds of marching feet pattering against the devastated earth._

_She gripped the objects tight in her hands and pinned them onto the burned surface. She shook her head, pushing the painful memories aside as the sounds of marching grew louder. She lifted her head and looked forward. Several feet away, a man with dark brown hair and a trusting face stood with a gun. A bandage was placed over his right eye, and he was looking right at her with a deadpan expression. A massive army of faceless figures stood behind him. Weapons were placed in their hands, loaded and ready to be used._

_Her fingers dug deep into the burned earth, her anger rising as she took several erratic breaths through her nose. She looked back down at the ground. A silver handgun rested at her side. She reached over and grabbed it. The enemy raised their weapons. She gripped her gun tight and cocked it, looking down at the wedding rings near her feet. Drops of water began to fall from the sky and splash onto them, doing nothing to wash away the ash that now stained the metal._

_She got up off the ground, stood up straight, and pointed her weapon right at the one eyed man. The man merely smirked and raised his gun at her. His mouth moved, but nothing could be heard over the sound of lightning cracking across the sky._

_She opened her mouth and screamed,_

_And not a single sound came out as she pulled the trigger._

“Kei?”

Kei snapped open her eyes and turned her head, looking towards the doorway of her cell. Carl stood there with a solemn look on his face. He was in yesterday’s shirt, but he exchanged his jeans for a pair of pajama pants. Kei looked to the Prison’s only window. It was still dark out.

“Are you okay?” She heard the 13 year old's voice ask quietly.

Kei looked back down at the boy and nodded, “Yeah, why?”

“You were…groaning in your sleep,” He answered hesitantly, “Did you have that dream again?”

The image of her ash stained skin flashed in her mind. She looked away from the boy as she nodded, and listened as his feet shuffled across the floor. He stalked his way over to her bunk and plopped down across her body. She let out a small _oomph!_ and chuckled as Carl let out a small laugh. He clamored his way onto her mattress and made himself comfortable on the side closest to the wall. Kei turned her body and faced him, smiling as he plopped face down into the pillow with a huff.

“How’s your dad doing?” She asked quietly.

“Not good,” His muffled voice answered, “You should have seen him yesterday.” 

He lifted his head from the pillow and turned to look at her. Kei reached over and gently ran her fingers through the boy’s dirty hair as he picked away at loose threads on the pillow case. 

“After you went to bed, My dad went to talk with the new group I found,” He spoke, “You know, the ones I told you about? Their leader Tyreese wanted to join our group, and it looked like my dad was gonna say yes, but then he started freaking out.” 

Kei furrowed a little, watching as Carl’s eyes dropped to the mattress.

“He was screaming and yelling at thin air,” She heard him say, “He had a loaded gun in his hands and he was waving it around, he could’ve killed someone…”

She could hear the stress building in his voice. His eyes were glassy and she could see tears fast approaching. Carl bit his bottom lip as he tried to hold back and fight it.

“He’s losing it, and I don’t know what to do,” He choked. Tears started to roll down his cheeks. Kei was quick to wipe them away with her thumb and scooted her body close to him.

“Hey, shhhh, sh sh sh,” She whispered, kissing the side of his head. She held him close as he snuggled into her shoulder, listening as he quietly cried into her shirt. She ran her fingers through his hair and hummed him a song that she used to sing to Miho when she got upset. Still, Carl continued to cry and cry, letting out all his frustrations and his pain in the form of tears. Throughout the night Kei continued to hold the boy close, never letting him go, even as they drifted to sleep.

 

Kei woke up the next morning to find Carl gone and everyone else seemingly up and about. She slipped out of bed and quietly made her way out towards the dining room, or…rather the security wing where they all ate. When she entered the security block, she found [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen_kai/set?id=74791647&lid=1950767) sitting down Indian style on top of the table where they ate. Three bowls were placed in front of him, another one in his hand. He put the small bowl to his mouth and slurped away, staring down at Ren and Ame the entire time. They stood firmly in front of him. She couldn’t tell if they were on guard, or just hungry and begging him for food.

“What are you eating?” She asked, slowly making her way towards the table. She slipped past the wolves and petted their heads before sitting down at the table. She stared at the three bowls and her eyes widened. One bowl had brown rice with black sesame and a pickled plum on top. The second bowl had stewed hijiki and chopped up carrots inside. The third bowl was what made her heart leap. A warm, golden broth with tiny bits of package grade tofu, seaweed, and green onions. The ultimate cold fighter, the savory and earthy broth that had brought her so much joy in the world before it had ended…

“Miso…” She breathed, her eyes wide in disbelief. She reached forward and slowly picked up the bowl, relishing at how warm it was on her palms and fingers.

“Swiped it from Daisuke’s house,” She heard Sen answer while taking a gulp of soup, “He had a bunch of pickled plums and rice and shit lying around…figured he didn’t need them anymore…”

Kei’s heart sunk in her chest as she looked up at her friend.

“Daisuke turned,”

The boy shook his head, his lips curling inwards as he took another gulp of soup.

“Opted out early with his parents,” He admitted, pointing to his temple with his middle and index fingers, “I squatted at his house for a couple weeks after I buried them. I had to move when a big herd came in.”

Kei could see the battle between him and his emotions on his face. He was fighting back a memory, a terrible memory.

“What about Airi and Alex?” She asked, thinking of all the times the four of them ran around and hung out together in Japan. The four of them were a gang, a band of misfits with an unbreakable bond.

“Last I heard, they were making their way to the coast,” He answered, “Ferries were taking people out to the islands, God knows if they made it or not.”

“I heard the same thing,” She remarked.

“Funny,” He scoffed, “We used to joke around and pretend to prepare, saying who would be on our teams and what we would do...We used to say how even the apocalypse couldn’t tear us apart.” 

He listened as Kei let out a scoff as well. He watched as her small smile fell into a pained expression. She stared at the bowl of soup, suddenly perking up when Sen grabbed it and held it out to her.

“Sen! What’re you—?!” 

“Eat!” He interrupted, holding the bowl closer to her face, “I made this for you, didn’t I? It’s your favorite! I saved these ingredients just for you!” 

Her eyes widened, taken back by what he just said.

“You…You what?” 

“You like stewed hajiki, right?" He beamed, "I’ve been waiting ages to give this to you!”

“But…but…”

“But but but,” He mimicked, setting the bowl back down in front of her, “Just eat it!” 

Kei looked down at the bowl before looking back up at her best friend.

“How’d you know that we’d even meet again? I could’ve died long ago,” 

He rolled his eyes and let out an audible “Aaayyye,” dropping his head and shaking it before looking back at her.

“Well you didn’t, so eat!” He chirped, pushing the bowl closer to her. The girl didn’t budge, her eyebrows simply raised at him. The boy scratched the back of his head as he leaned back and crossed his legs Indian style. 

“I had a feeling, alright?” He said with a quick shrug, “I mean, I had to keep looking. I couldn’t just give up like that, you know?” 

The man scratched the back of his head, looking down at the floor and avoiding her stare. She smiled lightly and put the bowl to her lips. She tipped it upwards, downing the soup and humming as her taste buds went wild. The very taste brought back memories like a flood: Her mother’s cooking, laying in bed sick with a cold, having soup drinking contests with Sen. The salty, earthy broth reminded her of Airi’s uncle, a chef at the ramen shop near her old home. 

She screwed her eyes shut and swallowed, warmth filling her and running through her veins. It was delicious, absolutely delicious. Sen sat at the edge of the table and leaned in, observing Kei’s expression with a smile.

“Good, huh?” 

“The best,” She hummed, “I haven’t had miso in forever, it’s wonderful.”

She grabbed the chopsticks and wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, smiling as Sen poked fun at all the happy faces she made. She stuffed a pickled plum in her mouth and watched as Sen brought his knees up to his chest. Her eyes fell down to his bare feet, and the anchors that were tattooed right on top. 

The two sat in silence with each other as Kei finished up her breakfast. Once she emptied the last bowl, she wiped her mouth and found herself looking over to the concrete steps. 

It was so weird not seeing him there.

“You alright?” She turned and looked up at Sen, a concerned look etched on his face. She looked down at her emptied bowl.

“I lost someone close to me,” 

“Daryl,” Sen watched as Kei looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, “That kid Carl told me about him…Well, technically he threatened me. He said that if I laid a finger on you, I’d have my ass handed to me when Daryl comes back.” 

A smile flashed across Kei’s face before it went blank again.

“He’s not coming back,” She replied simply, “He ran off with his brother, they’re on their own somewhere.” 

“Were you two an item?” He asked, letting out a sigh at her confused look, “Were you two together, boyfriend and girlfriend.” 

Kei’s eyes fell to the table in thought. That word never crossed her mind.

The boy twisted his lips to the side and he leapt off the table. He planted his bare feet onto the concrete floor and stretched his arms high.

“You go on and get dressed,” He grunted, letting out a sigh as he turned to look at her, “You can meet me outside afterwards. Maybe give me a grand tour of the place.”

 

 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/sen_kai/set?id=75685486&lid=1950767) went back to her cell and slipped on a white shirt and jeans much too baggy for her. She tightened her only belt around her waist and slipped on a pair of shoes. When she left her cell and went downstairs, she found Carol sitting at the table with Little Ass Kicker in her arms. Kei stepped up to them carefully and hovered behind her, looking down at the little newborn that rested peacefully against her chest. Now that she got a good look at her, she really was a pretty baby. She was going to be as pretty as her mom when she grew up.

"How're you feelin?" Carol's voice chirped. Kei kept her eyes on the baby as Carol turned her head slightly, smiling faintly at her. The girl just shook her head and shrugged, taking a seat next to her, just watching the baby as she slept. Carol gently rocked her arms and looked down at her Leader's new daughter fondly.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Carol chirped, "Lori would've been so proud..."

"She wouldn't be here if it weren't for Daryl," Kei mentioned, watching as the little one squirmed and cooed, "He saved her, finding that formula. He said he wasn't going to lose anybody else."

A warm smile appeared on Carol's face, "Sounds like him..."

The two of them continued to look down at the newborn, neither of them saying a word. Kei just watched Little Ass Kicker as she opened her tiny mouth and yawned a little.

"I hate him," She said bitterly, earning a shocked look from the woman next to her, "I hate him for leaving us like this. Leaving like..." 

The words caught in her throat and stayed there, swelling, making her eyes sting and heart feel like a lead weight in her chest.

"...Leaving me when I need him the most," She admitted, her voice falling into a strained whisper as her eyes started to well with tears. She quickly wiped her eyes and tried to keep from making a fool of herself, but the thought of Daryl gone had hit her once more; reopening the wound in her heart. Why on earth did he have to leave them? Why did he have to leave her?

Kei leaned forward and pressed her forehead onto Carol's bony shoulder, tears spilling out of her eyes and falling onto the woman's sleeve. Carol turned and gently pressed her lips onto Kei's head, closing her teary eyes and praying that everything would work out in the end. She prayed for Daryl's safety, for Kei's heart to heal, and most of all for her group to have the strength to keep carrying on.

 

 

"Ain't nothin' out here but 'squitos n' ants," Daryl spoke, looking around at the empty forest. All he could hear were the chirping of crickets and the rustle of leaves as the wind blew by. He couldn't hear little paws bounding across the forest floor, nor could he see anything scurrying up and down the tree trunks. All he could hear were the chirping of crickets, the rustle of leaves, and the sounds of his brother pissing on a tree nearby.

"Patience little brother," He heard Merle say, "Sooner or later, squirrel's bound to cross your path."

"Even so," Daryl spoke, "That ain't much food,"

"More than nothin'," Merle replied. Daryl glanced back at him, holding his crossbow up to look through the scope.

"Probably have better luck goin' through one of them houses we passed on the turn off," He suggested.

"Is that what ya new friends taught ya?" Merle razzed as he finished up, "Hm? How to loot for booty?"

The older Dixon zipped up his pants and turned to face his little brother. He sauntered his way up to his side, eyeing him and watching as his crossbow lowered a little. Daryl didn't turn to face him, and that's when Merle knew that something was really off. The younger brother shifted in place and rolled his head, holding his weapon back up once more.

"Hell… we been out here for hours," He said as he looked through the scope once more, "Maybe we could find a stream, try to look for some fish."

Now he knew what was up. The older Dixon hummed in his throat, shaking his head. He knelt down and grabbed the tripwire he had placed down earlier from the ground.

"I think you're just tryin'a lead me back to the road, man. Get me over to that prison…" He started wrapping up the string around his metal stub, listening as Daryl continued another petty attempt to change his mind.

"They got shelter, food…a pot to piss in, might not be a bad idea,"

Merle glanced up at Daryl with a brief smirk,

"For you maybe," He spoke, the bitterness clear in his tone of voice, "Ain't gonna be no damn party for me."

Daryl shifted uncomfortably in place. He took his back off the tree and stood up straight, looking back through the scope of his crossbow. 

"Everyone'll get used to each other," He muttered.

"They're all dead," Merle stated firmly as he wiped his hands, "Makes no difference."

Daryl lowered his crossbow again, avoiding eye contact with his brother as he looked ahead into the forest. A million and one thoughts raced across his mind.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked. He listened to his big brother let out hefty sigh.

"Right about now, he's probably hostin' a little house warmin' party," He answered, "Where he's gonna bury what's left of your pals."

The older Dixon rolled his tongue and pursed his lips, letting out a wad of spit through his lips,

"Let's go hook some fish."

Daryl looked to the forest floor for a moment before mimicking his brother's action, spitting to the ground before following his older brother. They sauntered through the woods for what felt like hours. The Georgia heat was rising high with the sun as it hit noon. Daryl rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, not saying a word as he and his brother stalked through the forest. What was there to talk about after all this time? A lot, actually, but really nothing his older brother would care about hearing. 

"There a reason why you all quiet?" Merle asked as they trudged on through the woods, "Didn't hurt yer feelins back there, did I Darylina?" 

"Shut up," Daryl grumbled.

"Didn't think you'd come with me, to be honest," Merle huffed, "Thought you might stay with yer pal Sherrif and that Asian bitch...All her hollerin' and cryin' after ya. Never thought I'd see the day...She a tough little bit ain't she?" 

“Just shut it, alright?!" Daryl snapped, continuing forward even as Merle stopped for a minute.

"Whoahoaaah," He heard his bother scoff, "What's got yer panties in a wad, huh?"

Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned, watching as Merle stepped up beside him.

"She ain't a bitch," He let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, "Just leave her out of it..."

He continued walking again. Merle watched his back for a minute, and sniggered.

"Didn’t know you an' her were bumpin' uglies on the side," His thin lips stretched into a grin when his baby brother didn’t respond, "Ohoooh! No way! Look at you, baby brother! Scorin' some pretty lil’ tang at the end of the world."

"Merle if you don't fucking shut it," Daryl warned, watching as Merle held up his hand and stub in defense.

"Alright alright, no need to get fussy," He insisted, looking at Daryl's back as he walked away, "She damaged goods anyhow."

The younger Dixon stopped. He turned around slowly and looked back to his brother, his eyes squinting slightly.

"The hell does that mean?"

"It means she's used, brotha," He mused with an impish grin, "Worn and torn." 

The brunette stepped closer, getting up in his older brother's face.

"...What?" His tone of voice was low, raspy, how it usually got when he heard something that was on the very brink of pissing him off.

"You ain't the only one who got a taste of that," He informed simply. He watched as his little brother's stormy blue eyes tried to search through his grey ones. There was no lie to be found, only the cold hard truth. Something that Daryl seemed to have a hard time processing.

"The hell're you sayin'," The younger brother rasped, his lips turning slightly inwards as Merle leaned in closer.

"I'm sayin The Governor took a huge bite outta that," He rephrased, "Got her screamin' for her life, he did."

When he saw Daryl's solid expression with no reaction to follow it, the older Dixon automatically assumed that he didn't get it. He rolled his eyes and pointed to his own temple, gesturing for his younger brother to actually think.

"I'm sayin' she was raped, dumbass," He voiced, "Assaulted, loved up without permission! The guy took her on a wild ride she didn't wanna go on! How many ways you want me to spell it for your a—!"

He wasn't even given time to think when a pair of strong hands violently shoved him backwards. His back smacked against the tree and he let out a swear. It was quickly cut off when a large fist managed to swipe him across the cheek. Daryl grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and slammed his brother back up against the tree trunk.

"You piece of shit!" He spat, "You fucking let that happen?! You let him do something like that to her?!" 

Merle's eyes stared wildly up at his little brother. This wasn't the Daryl he was used to. His Daryl was a fighter, sure, but a weaker one when it came to fighting him. This one pinning him down was strong, and someone to look out for. If this were any other man, he'd call him a worthy opponent. 

"You just stood by," He snarled, his blood boiling hot through his veins, "You just stood by and fucking let him do that her!"

Merle grabbed his brother's wrist and tried his hardest to pry him off. The harder he pulled though, the harder he was being pinned against the tree.

"I didn't...know...she was yers!" He grunted out.

"Well she is!!" Daryl spat, leaning forward and getting in Merle's face, "And you let him do that to her! I should knock yer fuckin' face in!"

"You should get the hell off me! That's what you should do!" Merle spat, wrenching his way out of his brother's iron grip. He thrashed and jerked about, finally getting his body away from the tree. He stumbled forward and let out a cough, stopping to turn and look back at his little brother. The brunette's eyes were dark, his face menacing as he paced slightly like an angry animal.

"Look," The older brother panted, running the back of his hand across his mouth, "I'm sorry, aight?! Was just...just followin orders! If I'd known she was yers I woulda—"

"That's fuckin' bullshit and ya know it," The younger brother hissed bitterly.

"Daryl, you gotta understand!" Merle voiced, "If I had said anythin', done anythin’, I woulda gotten a bullet between the eyes! He ain't the type'a guy ya wanna mess with!" 

"I'm going back,"

Merle's eyebrows knitted together, his lips pursing to a thin line as he watched his brother walk away.

"You can't," He let out.

"I can and I am," He heard him say, continuing on back in the Prison's direction. The older Dixon gritted his teeth and trailed after him, hounding him like a devil on his shoulder.

"So what, you just gonna leave me here to fend for mahself?! Huh?!" He barked after him, "You just gonna go back to yer lil asshole friends and that broken girl a yers? You think she gonna up and forgive ya after ya ditched her?!" 

He lunged forward and grabbed Daryl's shoulder, stumbling back as the younger brother stopped and swung around, violently swatting his hand away. A loud and unusual shriek suddenly echoed through the woods. Daryl instantly stopped and looked around,

"You hear that?" 

Merle listened closely to the wind. Another odd sounding shriek. He let out a scoff and shrugged,

"Yeah, wild animals gettin' wild,"

Daryl walked forward and stopped, his eyes scanning the woods closely.

"Nah, that's a baby," 

"Oh come on, why don't ya just piss in my ear and tell me it's rainin' too!" Merle guffawed, "That there's the sound of a couple coons makin' _love sweet love_."

He let out laugh as he gyrated his hips in a lewd way. Daryl rushed forward, ignoring his brother completely as they approached the edge of the woods. The stopped out of the tree line and found themselves in front a small creek. Daryl rushed up to the bank and looked up towards the source of all the screaming. Several yards away was tall bridge. There were Walkers everywhere, and two living men were standing on the back of a flatbed truck. They were frantically trying their best to defend themselves with only one gun. Daryl couldn't see the baby, but he could hear its desperate cries over the sound of gunshots and hisses. 

And then he heard a sharp whistle coming from behind him. 

"Hey! Jump!" Merle shouted towards the men, letting out a hearty laugh in amusement. Daryl growled to himself and shoved past Merle. The older brother's laughing ceased, and he watched Daryl jog towards the bridge.

"Hey, man!" He called, quickly trailing after him, "I ain't wasting my bullets on a couple of strangers that never cooked me a meal or fellaciated mah piece!"

Daryl didn't acknowledge him. He just kept running, running for his life towards the bridge.

"That's my policy," Merle called after him, "You'd be wise to adopt it brother!" 

Daryl gripped his crossbow tight and weaved in and out of the trees, running fast as the baby's cries grew louder and louder.

* * *

 

Kei stepped outside into the courtyard and stared at the morning sun through her sunglasses. She found Sen sitting on the pavement, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a bright green squirt gun in his hands. Ren stood in front of him, licking the barrel as he repeatedly pulled the trigger, spraying water in her mouth. 

“They’re not that bad,” He spoke as Kei sat down next to him, “I think it’s badass how they follow you around, protecting you and your group.”  
  
The boy held his cigarette with his free hand and took a long drag, exhaling a small cloud of smoke into the air. Kei looked down and noticed a clear squirt gun resting between them. She picked it up and looked at it closely, seeing that it was already full. 

“The water’s been boiled,” He assured, letting out a smoky sigh as he squirted some more water into Ren’s mouth.

“Where did you get these?” She asked, observing the squirt gun and checking it for leaks.

“A couple kids in Woodbury,” He answered, his lips forming a small smirk, “Needed to have fun somehow.” 

Kei stared at the plastic toy in her hand. Fun. She used to have fun. She used to fool around and have genuine fun with people at one point. Now, it felt like there was no time for that. Any minute could be life or death, where on earth was there time for games? When was there time to run around playing tag when you were constantly running for your life from undead corpses?

She looked up from the squirt gun and peered over by the fence. Carl was standing there, one hand on the chain link while the other was placed on his holstered weapon. He was looking out past the fences, over at something she couldn’t see. She twisted her lips to the side and looked down at her squirt gun. A mischievous grin stretched across her face. Sen furrowed and flinched when Kei suddenly got up and ran forward. She pointed her squirt gun and fired water at the back of his head. He watched from afar as Carl let out a yelp and jumped as water hit the back of his shirt and neck. She held up her arms in victory and laughed before pointing her toy gun at him once more. The boy let out a small laugh and started running, Ame trotting by his side as they tried to avoid her attacks. 

“Kei! Kei what are you doing!?” He laughed, “Cut it out!”

He let out another scream as water spritzed onto his ears and cheeks. He rushed to the left and bolted towards Sen, running behind his back and hiding behind the extremely tall boy. Ren and Ame barked rapidly, getting all riled up from the excitement. They started roughhousing with each other, playfully nipping and chasing each other around the courtyard. Kei kept her toy gun pointed to Sen, and Sen kept his toy gun pointed at her.

“Move,” She demanded, struggling to not smile and laugh.

“Can’t,” Sen spoke, earning a small “Yeah, get her!” from the boy behind him. Kei took a step forward, and the boys took a step back.

“Sen, move!” 

“Nah uh,” He said firmly, “‘cause I HAVE TO GET HIM!” He turned around sharply and pointed his squirt gun at Carl. The 13 year old let out a wail and jolted back, trying to dodge the spritz of water that almost hit his face. 

“Traitor!!” He yelled out. He tried his hardest to sound hurt, but failed as he let out a laugh. He wrapped his arms around his head and ducked as the two adults furiously fired their squirt guns at him. When the firing ceased, Carl looked up from his arms and rushed forward. He grabbed Sen’s gun right out of his hands and pointed it right at him, letting out a triumphant “Ha!”. The tall boy didn’t even think twice before bolting into action. He began running around as fast as his long skinny legs could take him. Kei and Carl chased him around, running back and forth and side to side, all in the hopes to trap him. Carl had managed to get his back a couple times, while Kei only got his jeans and arms. After a few minutes, Carl and Kei slowed down to a stop. They placed their hands on their knees and bent over, panting in exhaustion. Sen trotted up to them and held out his arms, steadily running in place as the two sighed and panted in defeat.

“I could run for days, kids!” He let out, “Y'all can’t touch this! You can‘t—AGH SHIT!!”

Carl extended one arm out and repeatedly fired onto the boy’s stomach, getting water on his tie dye shirt. Sen leapt back like an excited cat, earning airy laughs from the two as they tried to catch their breath.

“Hey!” They heard a voice call out. The three of them turned around and saw Glenn standing just outside the exit, arms folded and a serious look on his face.

“Play time’s over, I need you three inside,” 

Without another word he turned away and went back inside. Sen straightened out his shirt while Carl wiped his face and looked over at Kei. She glanced at him before turning her head, whistling sharply for the wolves to follow them inside.

Glenn knelt down on the ground with a piece of chalk, quickly drawing and mapping out a makeshift area of the prison. Carl watched Glenn's drawing curiously, tilting his head under the sheriff hat on his head. Glenn pointed down at the map with the chalk,

"Now you said this is where you found Tyreese's group, here?" He watched as Carl nodded with a shift of his foot, "We secured this." 

Carl looked down at the map closely, his eyes wandering over the map's layout. He got down on one knee and used his finger to trace a path through the makeshift map,

"He said he thought he came through here…"

Glenn looked to where the boy was pointing and sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair,

"It means that there's another breach," He muttered, looking to everyone in the room, "Okay, the whole front of the prison is unsecure. If Walkers just strolled in then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack?" Beth asked slowly, "Maybe you scared him off..."

"He had fish tanks full of heads," Michonne spoke out from the corner of the room, "Walkers and humans—trophies."

She took a brief pause and looked over at Kei. The two of them stared at each other, as if they shared a similar connection.

"He's comin',"

"We should hit him now," Glenn spoke. Beth looked at his as if he were crazy,

"W-What?"

"He won't be expecting it," He said sharply, "We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head!"

"We're not assassins…" Carol said, staring him in the same manner as Beth. Kei watched with folded arms as Glenn stood to his feet. He walked over to Michonne, his body tense and his face strict.

"You know where his apartment is," He said, "You and I can end this tonight."

Michonne sighed through her nose and looked away. Debate and hesitation was clear on her face.

"I'll do it myself," Glenn urged, trying to press the woman further to take his side.

Michonne looked back at him, her face deadpan as her head moved in a slow nod. Glenn nodded as well,

"Okay."

"I'm in too," Kei spoke, earning the attention from each member of her group. She kept her dark eyes fixed on Glenn, letting him know that she was completely serious.

"I'll help you kill him," She affirmed, "I’m trained in that sort of thing, taking out your opponent. It can be real quick and quiet."

"We both were," Sen added in, stepping forward and gesturing towards Kei, "If she's going, I'm going too."

Glenn nodded to the two of them, a sense of satisfacion showing on his expression.

"He didn't know you were coming last time," Hershel spoke out to Michonne, "Look what happened. You were almost killed, Daryl was captured."

Kei's insides tensed up at the very mention of his name. Her coal black eyes flickered over to Hershel as he looked over to Glenn.

"Kei was going to be taken hostage for more torture," He argued, "And you and Maggie were almost executed."

"You can't stop me," Glenn hissed as he walked towards Hershel. His gaze turned deadly towards the old farmer. Hershel dismissed the sinister tone in his voice and stood firm against the angry adult.

"Rick would never allow this," He remarked.

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?" Glenn bit.

"Think this through clearly," Hershel urged, "T-Dog lost his life, Lori too… the men that were here. It isn't worth anymore killin'!"

Glenn sighed and looked way from Hershel as the older man pushed for Glenn to listen to him,

"What were waitin' for, if he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now!"

"And go where?" Glenn asked arrogantly.

"We lived on the road all winter," Hershel remarked.

"Back when you had two legs, and we didn't have a baby crying for Walkers every four hours!" Glenn argued.

"We can't stay here," Hershel urged. Glenn put his foot down and leaned forward towards the man.

"We can't run!"

Kei's attention went to Maggie when she saw her slip away. She stalked her way back into the cell block without a word, and Glenn watched the entire time. Hershel kept his eyes fixed on the man in front of him. Glenn let out a sigh and pointed firmly to the ground.

"Alright, we'll stay put," He confirmed, "We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand."

Glenn knelt down and went back to the map on the floor. He looked over at Carl and pointed down at the map,

"Carl, you and I will go to the tombs," He announced, "We need figure out where the breach is."

"You'll need some help," Michonne remarked as she stepped forward.

"I'll come too," Sen offered out. Glenn shook his head to the both of them, pointing to the concrete floor.

"No. In case anything happens I need you two up here," His face fell and he looked to each member, suddenly realizing that something was wrong.

"Who's on watch?!" He looked to each member and their vacant expressions. Shaking his head in irritation, he stood up and walked off towards the courtyard, uttering a small "dammit," under his breath.

Carl went off with Glenn to check the tombs. Sen helped Axel and Carol set up blockades through the prison’s corridors. Michonne was out on watch (and keeping a close eye on Rick), so Kei decided to go inside and check on Maggie. She hadn’t truly spoken to the girl since woodbury, and she felt like it was long overdue. 

She entered Maggie’s cell and found her curled up on the lower bunk. Her breathing was light and her back was facing the girl in the doorway. Kei couldn’t tell if she was sleeping or not. 

“You awake?” She asked quietly. She saw Maggie’s head shift and shake with a little nod. 

“Unfortunately,” She answered, turning slightly to look back at her, “You alright?”

Kei looked down at the floor and nodded, looking back over at the brunette. 

“You?” She watched as Maggie looked away before turning back to her previous position; her back to kei’s face, her eyes glued to the wall.

“I heard what he did to you,” She made known, “He did the same to me, ‘cept he didn’t…go through with anything….”

Kei closed her eyes momentarily, trying to shove the image of his sickening smile aside.

“I don’t know how you do it,” She heard Maggie’s tired voice utter, “How you act so strong after all that’s happened to you…” 

Kei’s coal black eyes fluttered to the floor before looking back to the tired girl on the bunk bed. She shuffled her way over and slid inside, laying down and curling up next to the brunette. She slung one arm over and held her close, closing her eyes as Maggie took her hand and gripped it. She could feel her back muscles move and shift as she breathed. They laid there in comfortable silence with each other until the two of them fell asleep.

“ _Kei_ ,” A male voice whispered in the dark, “ _Kei, wake up_.”

Her stomach dropped, and her heart fluttered. Tired and raspy. His voice, he sounded just like…

“ _Kei,_ ”

She snapped open her eyes and looked over to the doorway. Glenn was standing there, traces of fresh walker blood smudged on his bulletproof vest. 

“Tombs outside the boiler room are overrun again,” He announced quietly, “I need you to go outside and keep an eye on things with Michonne.” 

The girl rubbed her eyes and nodded with a yawn, slowly slipping out of bed to fully stretch. After she stretched her arms, she turned around and leaned back into the bunk, hovering over a sleeping Maggie.

“Hey,” She whispered, watching as the girl cracked open one eye, “I’ll be back later, okay? You can watch over little ass kicker with me.” 

The farmer’s daughter remained silent as Kei slipped away and brushed past Glenn. She could see by the way he stood and how he sounded that he was tense. There was a lot he needed to talk about with his girlfriend. She sort of wished her and Daryl had talked. If only he had just stopped for minute and talked to her about it before leaving. She pushed the thought aside as fast as it had came. Daryl was gone now. He was gone and he had no intention of coming back. 

She headed back to her cell and began assembling her gear. After she prepared two handguns and shouldered her katana, she slipped back outside into the warm sunny courtyard. Sen was outside with Beth and Carl, the three of them standing over by the fence. They were looking down at the lower yard, watching as Hershel made his way to the edge of the fence. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=72435921&lid=1950767) walked up next to them and watched curiously.

“He’s gonna talk to Rick and try to bring him inside,” Beth explained, “The guy’s been out here for hours. No water or anythin‘.”

“Maybe he needs to think things out,” Sen suggested.

“He needs to rest,” Carl muttered, watching as his father sauntered out of the woods. He made his way over to Hershel, who was waiting for him on the other side of the chainlink fence. Kei watched the leader as he jutted about, constantly looking over his shoulder like someone was following him. His hair and clothes were damp with sweat and his skin was brushed with dirt. He’d been wandering the woods for a long while, looking for something.

Kei placed her hand on Carl’s shoulder and gripped it briefly before walking away. She whistled sharply for Ren and Ame to follow her, and she made her way down to the lower courtyard. She walked down the gravel path and watched as Ren and Ame ran off, bounding around the grassy courtyard, playfully nipping and biting at each other. She scoffed and made her way over to the abandoned bus. Michonne was already there with a rifle in her hands, looking over at Rick and Hershel.

“You any good with that?” Kei asked, her eyes pointing to the katana hanging off Michonne’s back. The woman turned her head slightly, looking back at her sheathed weapon before looking ahead again. 

“I get by with it,” She assured, her eyes looming over Kei‘s own weapon, “From what I hear, you’re quite the expert with that.” 

The corner of Kei’s mouth perked upwards, smirking as they began sizing each other up with their eyes.

“I get by with it,” She answered, leaning against the bus and looking up at the sky. Michonne leaned against the bus as well and looked at Kei curiously, observing the bruises on her arms and face.

“He got you pretty bad, huh,” She spoke, watching as Kei let out an airy scoff.

“Yeah,” She breathed, her dark eyes staring at the clouds as they floated by, “Though sticking my sword through his skull should even things up.”

“I already got his eye,” The woman remarked, “It’s certainly a start for me…’ 

“You wouldn’t mind if I take the other one then,” Kei spoke.

“Be my guest,” Michonne insisted, “Long as you save some of him for me.”

The two of them looked over at Hershel and Rick. The leader put one hand to the fence and dipped his head in shame, saying something that the two couldn’t make out from being so far. 

“Looks like the world finally got to him,” Michonne sighed, watching as Rick stalked away towards the woods.

“Yeah well he’s not the only one,” Kei sighed, watching the leader as well, “I’m surprised he even lasted this long. I started seeing my family months ago.” 

From the corner of her eye, she could see Michonne facing her. She looked like she wanted to say something. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words were cut off when the sound of a gunshot cracked through the air. Kei instinctively ducked down while Michonne planted her back against the bus. She looked over the bus’s corner, Kei shuffling to the edge and looking over as well. A white truck stood just outside the prison, both of it’s’ doors wide open. Two men stood outside it, one of them with a white bandage in his right eye. A Steyr AUG 1 rifle was in his hands, and he began shedding off rounds like they were candy. Kei ducked low and got out her handgun, planting her back against the bus. She looked out into the courtyard and saw the wolves over by Hershel, barking manically at the fence.

“Ren! Ame! Suwatte!” She cried out. Both wolves did as they were told and ducked low with Hershel into the long grass. Bullets began hitting the ground, knocking up dirt and grass around them. Kei quickly cocked her weapon and leaned out from the corner, firing a couple shots at the bandaged man with the rifle. He stopped firing towards the prison itself, and targeted the bus instead. He let off a round towards Kei and Michonne, the two of them retreating back behind the corner. 

The Governor stared through his scope, seeing Kei's face staring over the side of the bus she hid behind. A sinister grin spread across his lips and his attention now focused on her. He pulled the trigger once more, bullets digging into the steel that protected her and Michonne. Kei felt one steely hand yank her backwards and saw Michonne get in front. She held her rifle firmly in front of her, ready to unload on the next body that crossed her sights.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. Everything went dead silent. 

The tension was high and thick in the air. Kei's heart thumped against her ribcage. She kept her back pressed against the bus and closed her eyes, praying to god that the others were okay. 

"It's him," She heard Michonne hiss. Kei opened her eyes and looked at the woman on point. Michonne's coal black eyes stared at hers. Her face was slightly scrunched, like something foul had taken over her senses.

"It's the Governor," She rasped, gently jerking her head in the truck's direction. Kei cautiously stepped over and slightly leaned out, staring back over to where the truck stood. Sure enough, standing to the right was the Governor, holding an automatic rifle in his hand. Her jaw tightened, seeing that sadistic smile of his. Her hardened look suddenly softened when she heard the sound of skidding tires and a roaring engine. Her eyebrows knitted together and her eyes frantically searched for the source. She could hear it clearly, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Then, out of nowhere, a large truck came barreling down the dirt road towards the prison.

"What the hell is that?" Michonne asked from behind her. Kei gripped onto her gun tightly, watching as the van continued to speed towards them. It wasn't slowing down. The gap between it and the front gates was growing shorter and shorter by the second. And that's when Kei's eyes widened.

"Oh shit!" She let out. Just then, the truck blew through the front gates, metal flying everywhere as the large vehicle erratically barreled it's way through the courtyard. The van hauled itself into the center of the prison yard before skidding to a stop. Kei held up her hand gun and aimed at the truck's doors, waiting for someone to step out. Her heart thumped in her ribcage her breathing was heavy. Her and Michonne waited anxiously, both their eyes searching for some type of movement. It sat and idled quietly, the tension and painful anticipation taunting the prison group.

Kei's adrenaline spiked when the long steel gate propped on the back of the truck started to move. It slammed to the ground, making the two girls jump. Kei furrowed at it, waiting to see what would step out of the back.

Walkers staggered forward. Masses of putrid meat snarling and hissing as they staggered into the sunlight. The spread out across the grass and began mindlessly searching for life to feed on. Kei's thoughts immediately went to Hershel and the wolves. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled sharply to her pets, her coal black eyes desperately searching for them in the process. Ren and Ame leapt up and darted forward towards the walkers, barking like mad in attempts to get the small horde's attention.

Just then, the door to the van sung open. Kei watched as a masked individual in heavy gear jumped out, armed with only a handgun. The masked woodburian sprinted towards the front gate and Kei pulled the trigger on them. The Masked One didn't falter as they booked it down the dirt path, and when they were near the bus, they pointed their gun right at Kei and Michonne. The dark haired girl ceased her fire and leapt out of the way as the Masked One fired a couple shots. Michonne managed to jump out of the way as well, but just by the skin of her teeth.

More gun fire went off. Bullet rounds were being rapidly shed from both sides. Kei quickly scrambled to her feet and planted her back against the bus. She held up her handgun and fired at a pair of walkers that were staggering towards them. She saw Hershel sit up from the grass and fire his gun at a few more Walkers. It wouldn't be long before the man would become overpowered by the horde, and Rick was out there all by himself on the other side. She had to do something, and do something quick.

The Governor let off a round into the air before slipping back into the truck. As they skidded off, Glenn and the Silver pickup barreled past and started making it's way towards Hershel. Maggie and the rest of the group made their way out from the upper courtyard. They held their weapons forward and began firing at the walkers below. Kei quickly reloaded her handgun and looked to Michonne. 

"Go and get Hershel and take the truck back!" She yelled, "I got Rick!" 

The woman nodded firmly and tossed her empty rifle aside. She darted forward in Hershel's direction, whipping out her katana and slicing down walkers in her path. Kei let out a long and sharp whistle, and the wolves darted for Hershel. Ren grabbed walkers by the pantlegs and dragged them down while Ame barked and growled, getting the other walkers attention. Kei fired at a couple walkers as she made her way towards the stitched up hole in the fence. She frantically undid the wiring, watching as Rick fired bullet after bullet towards oncoming walkers. Several of them were coming from the woods, and they were closing in on Rick fast. Kei undid the last of the wiring and pried the hole apart, running through and holding her gun forward as a Walker charged her. She aimed at his head and fired, running past as it jolted backwards and fell dead where it stood. She fired at Walker after Walker: some in back of her, some in front, and a couple to the side. They were everywhere. When one got shot down, another one would take it's place. They just kept coming; a never ending infestation of rotted corpses. These things were becoming a real problem for her. 

Kei had run out of bullets when she was only half way to where Rick was. She shoved her handgun into her makeshift holster and slipped out her katana, listening to it's _SHING_ as she yanked it from it's sheath. She smiled on the inside. Boy, she missed that sound. She held her weapon firmly and began hacking her way through, cracking skulls and slicing off heads as she sprinted towards her leader. When she arrived, she found Rick beating down a walker with the butt of his gun. Three more walkers were closing in on him. One had gotten ahold of him and pinned him against the fence. Kei ran forward and stabbed the one closest to her. She ran her blade through the walker's chest and used all her strength to get him away from Rick. She held her sword firmly and pushed the walker away, turning it towards the woods and kicking it in the back, the walker stumbled forward, slipping off her sword easily enough, but turning around to violently hiss. He was cut short when she ran her sword through it's head. She kicked the walker down and turned to stab another, only to see that an arrow had beaten her to it. 

An arrow.

Rick shoved the walker down and looked up when he heard a loud animal cry. Merle Dixon ran forward with a rusted metal pole, stabbing the second walker closest to Rick in the head. Kei turned her head towards the treeline and saw Daryl there, holding up his crossbow with a dead serious look on his face. He fired another arrow at a walker only a couple feet away from Kei before focusing back on Rick. The girl was at a loss for words. Her mind had shut down for a moment. Was she just seeing things again? Was he really there? 

A gurgled groan sounded from behind the girl and she turned around sharply, slicing the top half of a female walker's head. As the creature fell to the grass, Kei's mind was thrown back into focus. They were all still in danger. 

As Daryl fired his arrows, and Merle used his metal stump to bash walkers to mush, Kei used her sword and kept close to Rick to keep him from harm. Once they were in the clear, the three men briefly exchanged glances with each other. Merle huffed and puffed in satisfaction, while Rick looked to Daryl and nodded. The hunter nodded back, his eyes darting over to Kei's. The girl kept a straight faced look, her dark eyes narrowing at him before tearing away. She looked over to the fence, staring inside at all the damage caused one man and a pair of his henchmen. She listened to their guttural hisses and groans. She watched as they mindlessly staggered about and bumped into each other. She watched with disgust, but most of all hatred. The dead had invaded her home once again, and it was all because of the Governor. The very thought of him made her blood run hot. He destroyed her home, he hurt her family, he hurt _her_.

That was the last straw.

He wanted to knock on the devil's door? Fine. If he wanted war, then she would go to war. 

This time, she was going to take him out. 

This time, she was going to win. 


	32. I Ain't a Judas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s a big promise,” She replied, her eyebrow arching upwards, “You sure you can keep it?”
> 
> She felt her hunter nod as his jaw bobbed up and down.
> 
> “I plan to,” Daryl assured, his steely blue eyes firm with determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL SEASON 4! woo woo! We're coming down to the wire, kids!  
> Ugh, I'm so excited. I finally have my costume done for nycc. Just in time too. I'm going as a genderswapped Rick.  
> My brother's going as Shane, and my best friend is going as Lady Deadpool. it's gonna be rad! ^.^  
> I hope everyone's doing well. Enjoy, darlings! xx

“The next time I see that fucking asshole I’m unloading a clip on him,” [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=72435921&lid=1950767) seethed, stomping back inside to the cell block. Rick and Daryl trailed after her. Merle was locked in the security wing, left to watch the commotion behind a barred door.

“What the hell was that?!” [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=72983493&lid=1950767) asked out from the perch, pointing in the courtyard‘s direction, “How’d that guy get past the fence?!”

“Fences are down the far side of the prison,” Rick announced as he rushed in, “Must’ve snuck in through there.”

Glenn came down from the perch and tossed down the gun bag. Everyone crowded around, watching as Rick grabbed another magazine and reloaded his rifle. Sen bolted down the stairs and rushed up to Kei. He gently held her arms, checking her over for any fresh injuries. 

“You alright?” He asked, his brown eyes frantically looking her over, “You hurt anywhere?” 

“I‘m fine, I‘m fine,” She assured, looking down at her holster, “I need more bullets though” 

“Yeah, yeah here,” He shoved a hand in his pocket and pulled out an extra clip. She took it with a small “thanks,” and reloaded her weapon. She froze when a pair of long skinny arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her. Sen pulled her in and hugged her tightly. Kei awkwardly patted his back in response. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle in her throat. He was the most paranoid person in the world when it came to her safety. He had been ever since they were little. 

Her eyes shifted to the right when she saw movement. Daryl brushed past without a word, making his way upstairs to Beth and Carol.

"We're not leavin'," Rick demanded.

"We can't stay here!" 

Kei and Sen turned to look at Rick and Hershel. A group meeting had officially started, and it was time to figure out their next move. Maggie yanked out her pistol and quickly checked to see if it was loaded,

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet's not gonna stop one of those rounds."

"We can't even go outside," Beth spoke out from the perch above the stairs. Carol stood close to Beth and looked over at her, "At least not in the daylight."

"Look, if Rick says we're not running, we're not running!" Glenn stated. Merle stared at the group from behind the cell door with slight amusement. He leaned forward, his arm resting lazily between the bars.

"No… better to live like rats!" He taunted.

"You got a better idea?" Rick called, turning swiftly around to face Daryl's brother. Everyone's attention shifted over to the man behind bars, waiting for him to give his two cents. Merle simply shrugged his broad shoulders and stared back at the leader,

"Yeah, we shoulda slid outta here last night; lived to fight another day," He spoke, "But we lost that window, didn't we? Now I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out on this place by now…"

Daryl started pacing back and forth, staring down at Merle from above,

"Yeah, well we ain't scared of that prick," 

"Y'all should be," The older Dixon warned, "That truck through the fence thing? That's just him ringin' the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground 'round this place? Shoot…. He could just starve us out if he wanted to."

The group fell silent. Maggie looked over to Kei before the both of them looked to Rick.

"Let's put him in the other cellblock," Kei spoke, Maggie nodding firmly in agreement.

"No," Daryl objected, "He's got a point."

"This is all you! You started this!" Maggie shouted at Daryl's brother. Merle only sighed while Beth intervened, rushing over to the steps and looking down at the rest of her group.

"What's the difference whose fault it is!? What do we do?"

"I said we should leave, now Axel's dead!" Hershel argued from the steps, his voice tense with growing anger, "We can't just sit here!"

Rick said nothing to the man in response. He only turned around and began walking away. Kei's eyebrows knitted together as she watched her leader walk further and further away. Suddenly Hershel lifted himself off the steps and got to his crutches, taking a few steps forward and staring daggers at the leader's back.

"GET BACK HERE!" He let out, his shout making everyone jump. The wolves jolted upwards and stared intensely at the old man and the leader. Rick's footsteps slowed to a stop, his back still facing the group. His loud voice had echoed through the cell block and lingered on the dead silence. Never had Hershel raised his voice like that. He never had a reason to until now. The old man hobbled towards the leader on his crutches, staring at him intensely.

"You're slippin' Rick," He said firmly, "We've all seen it, we understand why, but now is not the time! You once said this isn't a democracy, now you have to own up to that! I put my family's life in _your_ hands!"

Silence. Rick slowly turned around and lifted his head, staring at Hershel and his hardened expression.

"So get your head clear," Hershel demanded, "And do something."

Kei watched the leader as he looked away and turned back around without a word. He sauntered his way out of the cell block, leaving the group there in a brief period of silence. Glenn shook his head with a sigh, and everyone dispersed for the moment, gearing up and getting ready for the long day of patching things up. 

“I’ll watch over him,” Sen whispered beside her, “You go get some rest for a bit, maybe talk to Rick when things are a little less tense.”

The girl nodded to her best friend and grunted as he ruffled her hair. She nudged him away and walked over to Carl, grabbing his attention when she let out a small “Psst!”

“Hey,” She spoke out, lifting his hat to see his eyes, “You alright?” 

She watched as his steely blue eyes looked to the floor, his lips forming a small pout. He shook his head no. Her lips shifted to the side and her eyebrows furrowed together. She decided to do what her mother always did whenever she was upset. She leaned forward and pulled the boy in for a hug. Carl froze momentarily before loosening up, wrapping his arms around Kei’s waist. He buried his face into her side and held her tight. 

“It’ll be ok,” She muttered, hugging him tightly before letting go. She stepped back a little and gave him a light smile, lifting up his chin with her thumb and index finger. His big eyes looked up to hers as her hand fell back to her side. He nodded firmly. 

“That’s my boy,” She uttered with a faint smile. She planted a small kiss on his forehead before gently pulling his hat down over his eyes. A smile couldn't help but form on the boy's face. He adjusted his hat back to it's normal spot and watched as Kei walked away. She went upstairs and brushed past Daryl and Ren, the two of them just exiting his new cell. The two exchanged eye contact for only a moment before Kei brushed past him without a word. The 13 year old could tell that there was high tension between them. Kei’s light smile disappeared. Her entire attitude changed. Daryl watched her as she walked back to her cell, his jaw bobbing lightly, looking torn as he contemplated his next move. He finally took a step forward and slowly trailed after her back to her cell.

 

Kei slipped off her sweaty shirt and plopped down into bed with a heavy sigh. She laid there for a solid hour or so, not saying a word, not thinking a single thought. She just laid there and fiddled with the dangling gems and jewels of her grandmother’s pin. The metal still had bits of dried blood in the little crevices of the flower detail, but most of it had been washed off. She stared at the pin closely, admiring the pointed tip at the end. She gently pressed one calloused fingertip against it.

The door to her cell squealed softly. The girl listened as a pair of boots slowly shuffled across the floor before stopping. She quickly turned on her side and faced the wall, gripping her grandmother's pin tight in her hands.

“What,” She asked, fatigue and irritation clear in her tone of voice. Daryl chewed on his thumbnail before forcefully putting his hand to his side. 

“Came to talk,” He admitted, his voice as tired and rough as hers, “Wanted to make sure yer ok.” 

“Peachy,” He heard her say. Her back was still facing him, and the hunter wanted nothing more than to see her face again.

“...Yer not. I can tell yer not,” He spoke. Kei’s mouth perked upwards in a smirk. She rolled over and looked at him, watching his eyes as they loomed over her. Daryl’s heart and stomach dropped when he got a good look at her face. The bruising was starting to settle in, purplish yellow splotches marking her cheek and forehead. A thick black scab rested on her swollen lower lip, dried blood still smudged on her chin. His jaw bobbed up and down and he shifted in place. He dipped his head for a moment as he chewed on his lip.

“...Merle told me 'bout the Governor,” He confessed, lifting his head up to look at her, “’bout...what he did to ya.”

He took a few hesitant steps towards the bed. When she didn’t say anything, he took it as an ok and sat himself on the mattress. Kei scooted closer to the wall, allowing him to slide in further and lay down next to her. He turned over to face her, staring at her jet black eyes as they stared back at him.

“If I'd’ve known at the time, I would’ve stayed with ya,” 

She scoffed, a faint smile flashing across her face.

“Liar,” She muttered, “You love your brother too much.”

The hunter shook his head.

“Would’ve figured somethin' out,” He assured quietly, “Wouldn’t have left the way I did.”

“Like an asshole?” She added, watching him scoff lightly as he looked down.

“Yeah, like an asshole,” He spoke, running one hand gently across her bruised arm, “I really am...sorry.”

Her eyes fell to the mattress. 

“I know,” She uttered. The hunter chewed on his lip a little as he looked over her face once more, staring at the marks that another man had left on her. His hand impulsively made it's way to her and gently placed itself on her cheek. his thumb gently brushing against her temple. Her eyes fluttered shut and she placed her hand over his, relishing in his touch and the feel of his skin. Thank God he was real. Thank God he actually came back to her. 

“...What'd he do to ya?” She heard Daryl ask out. Kei opened her eyes again and looked over at him, and the unsure look on his face. Her hand immediately dropped and she started turning away from him,

“Daryl,” She sighed.

“I just wanna know how bad it was,” He plead, his mind struggling to find the right way to word it, “Just...wanna know how far he went...with...” He watched as she turned her head to face him. Her eyes were hesitant and wavering, clearly torn between telling him or not. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a slow sigh through her nose.  
  
“He didn’t... _go all the way_ , if that’s you’re wondering,” She admitted, her voice slow and soft, “He smacked me around and…made me go down on him…” She watched his stormy eyes fall to the mattress, his lips pursing into a thin line. She could tell that a million and one thoughts were racing across his mind. 

“He said he was going to bring in Maggie and Glenn’s hands,” She went on, watching as his eyes met hers, “He was serious, Daryl. If I didn‘t do what he wanted, he would‘ve killed them right then and there...”

She turned over on her side and faced him, watching his stormy blue eyes flick back towards the mattress. She could tell he was growing more and more upset by the second. She scooted in close to him a bit and whispered a small “hey”, earning her a look from him.

“I wasn't scared of doing what I had to in order to keep you guys safe,” She whispered admittedly, thinking back on all her previous offenders, “I've dealt with worse, way more pathetic ones...he’s not the first to try and use sex as a weapon on me.” 

“...He sure as shit’s gonna be the last, though,” She heard him rasp bitterly under his breath. The girl furrowed and looked at Daryl. He shifted on the pillow, his eyebrows knitted together as he grew roiled over what he had just heard.

“…I’m gonna kill him,” He promised firmly, “I am.”

The girl stared at the hardened expression on his face for a moment, and a faint smile flashed across her own. She scooted closer to him and gently placed her hand on his whiskery cheek, her fingertips gently brushing against the dark brown wisps of his hair.

“That’s a big promise,” She replied, her eyebrow arching upwards, “You sure you can keep it?”

She felt her hunter nod as his jaw bobbed up and down.

“I plan to,” Daryl assured, his steely blue eyes firm with determination, "He's gonna regret touchin' ya. I'll make him."  Kei’s smile grew slightly wider and she leaned in, gently rubbing her nose against his. Daryl stood still, scrunching his nose and letting out a scoff as she kissed it. 

“I’m glad you came back to us,” She whispered, her lips gently pecking his own. Daryl’s hand instinctively went to the back of her head, gently pushing her towards him. Their lips reconnected, brushing against one another, the two of them letting out light sighs and hums in satiation. Kei’s fingers gently cupped the back of Daryl’s head, playing with his hair as he broke the kiss. He gently pressed his forehead against hers, the two of them smiling lightly with eyes closed.

A small cough went off from the doorway. Daryl turned around while Kei sat up, the two of them looking over to the source. [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen_found_something_yours/set?id=74585845) stood there with a box in his hands, his eyebrow arched upward in amusement.

“Sorry to crash your party, but Rick wants you,” He said, looking directly towards the hunter. Daryl slid out of bed and stood up, adjusting his sleeveless flannel before turning to look back down at Kei. She smiled lightly at him, nodding for him to go on and see what Rick wanted. The hunter gave her a small nod in response. The lanky Asian boy looked Daryl up and down as he walked past, smirking at the little glare he was getting from the hunter. So protective. As Daryl walked out, Sen stepped in and leapt onto the bunk bed, taking a seat next to his best friend.

“Well, he’s a ray of sunshine!” He chirped as he laid down flat across the mattress. He rested his head on Kei’s stomach, his head bobbing up and down as she let out a laugh. She shifted around to sit up straight, forcing Sen to sliding off and sit up straight as well. A smile stretched across his face and he held out the mysterious box.

“I have something of yours,” He beamed, “Something really cool.”

“Something of mine,” She quoted, watching as Sen nodded rapidly, “What is it?” 

“Open,” He insisted, placing the box in her lap, “You’re gonna like it, I swear.”

Kei looked down at the box. It was long and rectangular, a box suited for clothing like dresses and blouses. The outside was dirty and worn with time. She lifted off the top and looked inside, her eyes widening at an instant. Cloth made of red tatsumura silk, hand stitched gold leaf designs, beautiful intricate patterns. Kei’s mouth dropped. Her eyes went wide. This was…

“My _yukata_ ,” She uttered, running her fingertips over the silky fabric. Sen watched as she picked up the beautiful piece of cloth and looked over it. She then began digging through the rest of the box. Inside was her obi, a tortoise shell hair comb, and her little kokeshi doll. She recognized the little painted doll of wood, with little teeth marks and scratches covering the detail. It was the one her birth parents had given to her when she was born. She stared at the items as a whole. These were the last remnants of her family, the last few links to what was of her old life.

“Where did you get this?” She asked, her eyes wide in utter shock.

“Your grandma left it at my mom’s house a few summers before the world ended,” He answered, looking down at the old box, “I hid up in the attic when all this first started, and I found this in one of the boxes. Figured you might want it.”

Kei smiled at her best friend. She was touched. Seeing her toothy grin made Sen’s smile grown even wider. Seeing his friend smile again, seeing her happy for however brief a time; it was worth everything he‘d been through.

“I can’t believe I used to hate wearing this,” She scoffed, running her fingers over the detailed patterns, “It’s so beautiful…”

Her eyes were starting to sting and small tears were starting to form. She quickly wiped them away and sniffled, shaking her head in attempts to keep it together. Sen scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as she buried her face into his shoulder. The two of them stayed silent until Glenn’s voice made them both perk up.

“I wouldn’t ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you!” 

Kei and Sen looked to each other before slipping out of bed. They walked out of the cell and started making their way towards Glenn’s voice. Sen continued on towards the commotion while Kei stopped in front of Daryl’s cell, noticing his hard expression as he fiddled with one of his bolts.

“What’s going on?” She asked as she stepped inside. Daryl looked up at her from his bunk before looking back down at his arrow.

“You want Merle here?” 

“What?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. 

“Do ya want Merle here,” He repeated, looking around at his cell, “Do ya want him here, in all this with all of us.” 

Kei only thought about it for a second before shaking her head.

“No,” She answered honestly, watching as Daryl’s eyes fell. She smiled lightly and walked over, sitting at the edge of his bed. It was the truth, she didn’t want Merle here. He had his chance when they found each other at the mini mart, and he showed where he stood when he kidnapped them and took them Woodbury. 

“But I want you here though,” She admitted, looking down at the hunter, “And if having him stay means that you’ll stay, I can live with it.” 

Daryl looked at her and watched as she leaned over on the bed, laying herself down next to him. She huddled in close and gently placed a hand on his cheek, getting him to turn his head and look down at her. She smiled at him, gently running her thumb across stubble on his cheek. He smiled and quickly turned his head, gently nipping at her palm. She let out a giggle as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. He gently kissed the side of her head, nuzzling his nose into her hair. She shifted her head away and gently pressed her lips against his jaw.

A small cough sounded from the doorway. The two pulled away suddenly and sat up straight. Carol stood in the doorway with a smile, beaming at the couple in the bunk bed. Kei brushed some hair behind her ear and looked to the floor with a smile. She then looked back at Daryl, the two of them nervously laughing it off. The girl reached over and jokingly nudged him in the shoulder before slipping out of bed. She smiled over at Carol and gently touched her arm as she walked past. The woman gave her a light smile in return and watched as she left the cell.

Kei went downstairs to find Rick handing two sniper rifles over to Glenn and Maggie.

“The field’s filled with walkers,” He announced while handing over a set of keys to Maggie, “Didn’t see any snipers, but I’m gonna need you and Kei to help Sen and Carl take watch. Eyes open, head down.”

The brunette nodded and looked to the girl on the steps. Kei nodded as well and went back upstairs to get her weapons. When she came back down and entered the security wing, she found Ren sitting by Michonne, watching as she did push ups on the floor. She whistled lightly to the wolf, chirping a small “here, sweetie.” Ren perked up immediately and trotted to her master’s side, panting as Kei got down on one knee. The girl rubbed through the red wolf’s thick fur, inspecting her for any injuries. 

“Whatcha up to, Lone Wolf?” A ragged voice chimed out behind her. Kei’s eyebrows knitted together as she kept on inspecting her companion, trying to ignore Merle as he came in and sat down on the table next to her. She held Ren and told her to shush as the wolf tried pull away. She growled at the man, her spine arching and her teeth flaring. Merle held his hands up and lifted his legs, sitting Indian style on the table. 

“Easy there Sparky, easy,” Merle cooed, “Smart wolf you got there. Hard to believe they even listen to ya. I’ve known ‘em to be pretty nasty.” 

“They can be, if you threaten them,” She replied, turning her head to eye him, “Or anyone else they care about.”

She watched as the corner of Merle’s mouth twitched upwards in a smirk.

“I’ll be sure not to cross ‘em, then,” He assured, “Ya know…I figure, if we’re all gonna be under the same roof, we should clear the air. The three of us.”

Kei turned her head towards Michonne. She was doing crunches now, her eyes strict and focused on looking forward. 

“This whole huntin ya down, capturing ya, and hittin’ ya thing, that was just business,” He assured, “Carryin’ out orders.”

Michonne let out a scoff.

“Like the Gestapo,” She replied bitterly, watching as Merle nodded with a half smile.

“Yeah, exactly,” He said simply, “I done alotta things I ain’t proud of, before and after…”

Kei gave Ren a little whistle and let her trot back into the cell block. She stood straight up and re-shouldered her katana, eyeing Daryl’s brother as she walked past.

“Anyway, I hope we can get past this,” She heard his voice speak out, “Let bygones be bygones…” 

* * *

 

Walkers by the fence. Walkers in the courtyard. Walkers in the field. Walkers everywhere. Kei peered through her binoculars at all the corpses as they hissed and mindlessly wandered about. It was hard to believe that these people had lives before. Some of them had jobs, families, memories. It was hard to believe that once, these people crowded city sidewalks and coffee shops and retail stores. Now here they were, dead, moldy, bloody, and hungry for human flesh. 

“See anything yet?” She heard Sen mutter next to her. 

“Nope,” She scanned the field with her binoculars once more. She looked over by the graves, and her breathing hitched. A little girl in a red sundress was standing at the foot of Lori’s grave. She turned her head and looked in Kei’s direction, as if she was staring right at her. 

“Rick sees his dead wife,” She heard Sen say. His voice tore her attention away from the girl, and instead she turned and looked at her best friend. He removed the end of his rifle from the opening between the wood pallets and set it down beside him.

“It’s pretty heavy,” He sighed as he sat back on his hands, “You still see your family?” 

The very mention of them made her stomach drop a little.

“Just my grandpa…and Miho,” She admitted, her dark eyes falling to the floor, “I only see my parents when I’m—”

“Psst!” She heard Carl hiss out. The two looked over to Carl and Ame’s position just outside the entrance to the cell block. The boy held the binoculars firmly to his face, staring through the open slots on the pallet. Ame stood up from the floor and sniffed the air, perking up suddenly as he made a small huff.

"There's somethin' weird out there,” Carl hissed.

Kei pulled the binoculars back up to her face. Sen and Maggie slid the barrel of the rifles through the pallet slots and holes in the chain-link. The two of them stared through the long range scopes and watched as a figure walked out of the treeline with a Walker leading the way. Something was clamped around the creature’s neck, keeping it from turning on it’s wrangler as the two of them staggered towards the shattered front gates. Kei narrowed her eyes and reached in back of her, slipping out her handgun and holding it firmly. Her dark eyes went over to Maggie as the girl looked over her shoulder at Carl,

"Andrea!” She whispered out sharply, making Carl and Kei perk up, “Get your dad and the others!"

Sen held his rifle firmly and got up as Carl and Ame rushed back inside. Kei continued to stare out at Andrea as she made her way through the front gates. As she staggered up the gravel path, Kei noticed that she held a walker by the neck with a long metal grabber. With the contraption, she was able to lead it around and hold it front of any suspicious walkers. She was using the creature’s scent to hide her own. Brilliant.

Kei suddenly perked up when she heard the main cellblock door slide open. In tight formation, Rick, Daryl, Merle, and Michonne ran out with their rifles in front of them. Maggie and Carl rushed out onto courtyard while Carol and Glenn covered them from the bridge up above. Merle rushed forward in front of everyone and took cover behind a truck, quickly looking around for any sign of hostility,

"Clear!"

Kei stood up from her hiding spot and leapt over the barricade, raising her handgun towards Andrea as she moved faster towards the gates. Walkers had taken notice to her scent and began to follow her. Rick ran towards the gate, and stopped a few feet short from the padlock.

"Are you alone!?" He barked.

"Open the gate!" Andrea yelled out. Rick rushed up to the gate and pressed his back up against the fence, shouting at her again,

"Are you alone!?"

"Rick!" She cried out, frantically looking around at the Walkers closing in on her. Daryl rushed up and stopped next to the lock and chain, Rick tossing him the keys. Kei rushed forward and stood up next to Carl and Sen. Daryl tore open the gate and Andrea turned around, shoving her Walker forward before hastily stepping in through the gates. Right when she stepped in, Rick had his rifle pointed right at her.

"Hands up! Turn around!"

Andrea let out an exhausted and confused “What?!” before the leader shoved her up against the fence. He began to pat her down, making sure she had no other weapon besides her hatchet on her. Daryl walked up and kept his crossbow pointed at the side of Andrea's head. The blonde panted in disbelief as Rick kept her pinned against the chainlink, and screamed when a Walker slammed up against the fence, attempting to gnaw at her. Rick yanked her back and turned her around, gripping her shoulders tight as he forced her on her knees,

"Get down on the floor!"

Andrea threw her hands up in the air as her knees hit the pavement. Merle, Maggie and Daryl turned around, keeping watch for any signs of The Governor’s people who might’ve been lurking. Kei lowered her gun and watched as Rick tossed Andrea around like a ragdoll, ignoring the fact that this was _Andrea_ and not just any random Woodbury soldier. He yanked her bag over her head and tossed it to Sen’s feet, turning his attention back to the blonde as Sen picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. 

"Welcome back,” He rasped to the woman on the ground, “Get up.”

He took hold of Andrea’s arm and pulled her up onto her feet. He then tugged her along towards the cellblock, one after another the others following suit. They all went inside and flooded around the tables, staring at Andrea while Merle shut the door behind them. Kei sat down at one of the tables, Daryl took a seat on the table next to her, watching closely as Andrea went from shock and confusion to complete happiness. After 9 months of being apart, she finally saw them, her old group members, her family. The blonde walked down the steps and took Carol into a tight hug. Ren trotted up to her and leapt up in excitement, planting her paws on the woman’s stomach as she wagged her tail. Andrea chuckled and smiled as she ran her hands through the wolf’s fur. Kei let out a small whistle and Ren quickly retreated back to her side. 

The blonde continued to look around at everyone in disbelief. They all looked so tired, with dark eyes and dirtied faces, it was amazing how far they had come. Her eyes fell onto her Hershel and they widened.

"Hershel… my god!" She said with an airy gasp at his missing limb. The old farmer’s lips pursed under his heavy mustache. Andrea took another look around at the place and stepped forward,

"I can't believe this,” She breathed, looking around at everyone before stopping on Rick, “Where's Shane?"

No one said a word. Everyone exchanged glances with each other as Rick shook his head. She continued to look at Rick her eyes still wide with shock.

"And Lori?"

Again, not a word.

"She had a girl,” Hershel spoke out, breaking the eery silence from the rest of his group, “Lori didn't survive."

"Neither did T-Dog,” Maggie added grimly. Andrea looked to each of them, her voice dry and just above a whisper,

"I'm so sorry…"

The blonde turned and took one good look at Carl, their child soldier, and her face grew soft with sympathy. She shook her head lightly and stepped forward,

"Carl…" 

The boy only stared up at her from under his hat, his blue eyes cold and unwavering as Andrea stopped dead in her tracks. Biting back her tongue, she looked back to Rick,

"Rick I-"

As she stepped towards him, Rick took a few steps back and avoided her gaze. Kei could see the struggle to keep from breaking down again on his face. Andrea took a deep breath and looked around the prison,

"You all live here?" She asked, her tone lighter, attempting to sound happier.

"Here in this cell block," Glenn answered her simply. She looked back at him and pointed towards the cellblock,

"There?” She asked, watching as Glenn nodded in response, “Well… can I go in?"

"I won't allow that."

Rick immediately stepped in front of Andrea as she made way towards the cellblock. The blonde stopped in her tracks and stared at him with disbelief,

"I'm not an enemy, Rick,"

"We had that field, courtyard, until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up," Rick retorted bitterly.

"He said you fired first,” Andrea spoke, shaking her head at the man in confusion. Rick only stared at her, searching her expression in the process.

"Well he's lyin’" He said plainly, his blue eyes staring into Andrea with a neutral expression. Andrea only stared at him confusingly, not knowing what to say or do,

"He killed an inmate that survived in here,” Hershel informed. 

"And we liked him, he was one of us," Daryl added. Andrea brought her hand to her mouth, obviously shocked about what she was hearing. 

"I didn't know anything about that,” She assured with a shake of her head, “As soon as I found out I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shootout!"

"That was days ago,” Glenn argued.

"I told you I came as soon as I could…" She replied to him. She stared back and forth from him and Maggie, neither of them saying anything. No one in the group said anything. Andrea couldn’t tell if anyone believed a word she was saying, and that very fact upset her. She fumingly whipped around and looked over to Michonne by the cabinets,

"What have you told them!?"

"Nothing,” She replied simply, her voice surprisingly sweet against Andrea’s bitter tone.

"I don't get it,” Andrea spoke, looking around to each member of the group, “I left Atlanta with you people, and now I'm the odd man out!?"

Kei could tell that Andrea began to feel cornered. She was lashing out against the group. She was desperate. Glenn quickly intervened,

"He almost killed Michonne; and he would've killed us, and Kei—"

"With his finger on the trigger!” Andrea bit, pointing over to Merle atop the steps, “Isn't he the one who kidnapped you!? Who beat you!?"

Merle only tilted his head at Andrea and she only sighed, putting her hands to her face. She took a calming breath and looked back around at everyone once again,

"Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done… but I am here trying to bring us together… we have to work this out!"

"There's nothing to work out!” Rick stated as he marched towards her with deadly determination, “We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when… but we will."

Andrea inched towards him as well, a dead serious look in her eye.

"We can settle this,” She assured, “There is room at Woodbury for all of you!"

Merle couldn't help but scoff and laugh, Andrea looking up at him accusingly,

"You know better than that…"

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked, "Did he say that?" Andrea looked over at him, her eyes falling to the floor as she shook her head,

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked gruffly with his hands on his hips. Andrea sighed and glanced over at him,

"Because he's gearing up for war,” She admitted, looking to each member of her old group, “The people are terrified, they see you as killers! They're training to attack."

"I'll tell you what,” Daryl’s rough voice sounded out. Everyone looked to him as he looked at Andrea with a dagger-like glare, gripping the strap of his crossbow tightly.

"Next time you see _'Philip'_ ,” He spoke, his tone dead serious, “You tell him imma take his other eye."

Andrea opened up her mouth to speak, but Glenn quickly intervened.

"We've taken too much shit for too long,” He hissed.

“He’s right,” Kei spoke out firmly, “If he wants a war, he's got one."

Andrea looked to Kei momentarily before looking at everyone in disbelief. They were all so cold, so worn and withdrawn, she couldn’t believe what she what her group had become. The blonde turned around and looked to Rick for help,

"Rick… if you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a _whole_ town,” She spoke, looking back to each of her group, “Look at you, you've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

Rick quickly stepped in front of her, his steely blue eyes bearing into her own.

"You wanna make this right? Get us inside," He demanded, making Andrea’s eyes widen and shake her head.

"No—"

"Then we got nothin' to talk about,” He bit, brushing past her as Andrea whipped around to look at him.

"There are innocent people!"

The leader ignored her and disappeared into the cellblock, shutting the door behind him as he ended the discussion for good.

* * *

 

Andrea went back to Woodbury. Kei knew that she wasn’t going to give up so easily. She was going to go back and rethink of a way to get them to negotiate with each other. There would be no negotiating though. The Governor wanted them dead, and they wanted him dead. They couldn’t live while the other survived, one of them had to die. 

Night had fallen over the prison. Kei was upstairs in her bunk bed resting while everyone was down by the lower cells below. She could hear Beth signing a song while a couple of the men muttered amongst themselves. Her eyes fluttered shut and she listened to the soft snores coming from the Red wolf at the foot of her bed, and the soft thrum of Beth’s voice as it echoed around the empty prison.

_Hold on, hold on, you gotta hold on,_

_Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on…_

“Kei?” She heard a little voice peep. She cracked open one eye and saw Carl in the doorway. She opened both eyes and watched as he stepped in, carefully avoiding Ren as he slipped inside the bunk bed. 

“Dad was wondering if you wanted to come on a run with us tomorrow,” He muttered, “Michonne’s going too.”

The girl shifted as Carl snuggled into her frame and tried to get comfortable. She wrapped an arm around him and held him close, her hands gently running through his hair as she let out a light hum in her throat.

“Sounds fun,” She muttered, her eyes beginning to droop to a close.

“Kei?” Carl's voice chirped.

“Hmm?”

“You think…You think my dad’ll be okay again?” He asked. He shifted his head a little to look at her, watching as she nodded with eyes still closed.

“...Yeah, I think he will,” She replied honestly, “Try to sleep, alright?”

The young boy looked down at the matress for a minute before closing his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. He snuggled into the pillow and tried his best to relax, thinking of nothing but the soothing feel of fingers gently running through his hair.

“Alright,” He muttered, “Goodnight Kei.” 

“Night Carl,”

* * *

 

The road was long, and it seemed to go on forever. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=80322941) let out a yawn, and kept her head pressed against the backseat window as she listened to the thrum of the Hyundai’s engine. This was gonna be a long morning. It was silent, no radio, no birds chirping, just the thrum of the engine as they traveled down the road. Carl rested his head on her shoulder and picked at the frayed ends of his flannel shirt, neither of them saying a word as they sped down the never-ending road.

“Hey!” She heard a muffled voice yell, “Heeey! Slow down! Slow down!” 

Kei snapped out of her thoughts and sat up straight, peering out the windshield with a frown. She saw someone up ahead. It was a man, tall and skinny and carrying a big orange hiking bag on his back. He waved frantically at the car, running backwards and stumbling over as Michonne kept driving. 

“I’m begging you!” The man cried out as he ran after the car, “Please!!!” 

Both Carl and Kei turned around to watch the man as he tripped over his own feet and fell down on the road. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Carl turning back around, eyeing the back of his father’s head as they sped onward. Kei turned back around as well and rested her head against the window. This was going to be a long morning.

Kei woke up again with a start. Something slammed up against her window, making her jump and lean away. A walker had its molded, bloody face pressed up against the window, hissing and clawing at the glass. Kei shot her head around like a meerkat, her sleepy brain trying to register what had happened. A small group of walkers had surrounded both sides of the car, each of them pawing in hunger at the living masses of flesh inside. She saw Rick turn around and look back at them as he slipped out his gun.

“Cover your ears,” He uttered as he rolled the window down a couple inches. Kei put her fingers to her ears and watched as Rick held the barrel up to the walker’s head, flinching as he fired as shot. The walker jerked backwards and fell flat on the ground. Another took its place. Rick fired another shot and rolled his window back up, turning to look back at Kei expectantly. The dark haired girl nodded and told Carl to lean down. The boy did so as she slipped out her Katana with one hand and rolled down her window with the other. She stuck her sword through the opening and into a female walker’s skull. She yanked it out quickly and turned around, doing the same to the walker on Carl’s side. Only two remained on Michonne’s side. Kei quickly opened up her and scooted out, rushing backwards as a walker stumbled into the door and mindlessly shoved it shut. After taking a few healthy paces back, she lunged forward and swiftly swung her sword around, slicing off the top of the creature’s head. The walker froze stiff before falling to its knees and keeling over. Right as it fell, the last remaining walker staggered in her direction. 

Strips of rotted flesh dangled off its arms as it reached out to her in lust. The creature gurgled and sputtered through its black teeth, chomping at the air as it staggered closer to its meal. Kei gripped her sword firmly with both hands and brought it up high, slamming it right down on the walker’s head. She watched as its skull split wide open before she kicked it back with her foot. She quickly flicked her sword to the side, shaking the excess walker blood of her blade. 

Silence again. Kei took a look at her surroundings as Rick and Carl stepped out. A couple abandoned cars had blocked the road, along with an overturned RV. The cars were all bent and bashed in with broken windsheilds. There must have been an accident. 

“Kei,” She heard her leader call out. She turned around, watching as he gathered a couple sticks and twigs.

“Tire’s stuck in the mud,” He informed, “You’re on point, keep an eye out.” 

She nodded firmly and kept watch. Carl helped his dad raid the suitcases while Michonne stayed inside the car, waiting for Rick’s signal to try and move the vehicle. Kei kept her eye on the woods to her right. She saw movement over by a pair of tress. She took a few steps forward before freezing in place. She saw something. For a split second, she saw someone walk past; someone small wearing red. The dark haired girl quickly rubbed her eyes and reopened them. She focused firmly on the pair of trees, watching, waiting for it to move again. Nothing. 

The girl let out a sigh. 

She stepped back and started turning her head to look down the road, but just as she did, the small figure started to move. Kei quickly shot her head around and saw it. She saw _her._ A tiny girl with long dark hair, running barefoot in a red dress. Her heart skipped a beat. She watched, watched as the little girl ran further away into the woods, her long black hair flying and dancing behind her. 

“Heeeey!!” She heard a strangely familiar voice cry out. Kei snapped her attention back towards the road. The man with the large orange hiking bag was a good distance away, running towards them in desperation.

“HELP ME!!” The stranger cried, “I’M BEGGIN’ YOU, DON’T LEAVE! PLEASE! HEEEEY!” 

Kei turned back to look at Rick. The man eyed the stranger up ahead before gently tapping the Hyundai beside him. Michonne turned on the car and pulled forward, getting the tire out of the mud without fail. Rick looked over at Kei and gestured for her to get inside. The dark haired girl nodded and retreated back to the car, following Carl back inside and taking a seat next to him. Michonne then pulled forward and continued on down the road. Kei looked out her window and watched as the world rolled past. 

They pulled in to the edge of a town unknown to Kei. It was the downtown area of Rick and Carl’s hometown, in King County Georgia. Michonne parked the car just outside a medical office building, and the four of them carefully made their way towards the local police station. Kei slipped out her pistol and held it forward as the four of them carefully walked down the sidewalk. The area was dead silent, but that didn’t mean that eyes weren’t watching. Kei stood in front of the station and peered around while Michonne made her way in through one of the broken windows. She managed to carefully unlock the doors and opened them wide for the other three. Kei turned around to step in, but Rick stopped her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I need you to keep an eye out,” He muttered, watching her nod before walking inside. Carl followed suit, looking up at the dark haired girl before stepping inside. While the other three were inside looking for ammo and guns, Kei studied the buildings across the street for other possible places to look. A barber shop, an antique store, a vet. Her eyes stopped on an unnamed building, the sign placed in front too worn from weather and time to even read. A few windows were broken, black and grey streaks coming down from the exterior sills. It looked like fire damage. Her eyes wandered over the building’s detail, before stopping at the middle window on the fifth level. 

A little girl in red, resting her little head on the sill, watching her big sister with a blank expression on her face. 

The dark haired girl closed her eyes shut and pursed her lips, taking a light breath through her nose.

“ _Fuck,_ ” She let out under her breath, trying her hardest to push away the image of Miho’s smile. Inhale. One, two, three. Exhale. One, two, three…

She felt something small slip into her hand. Little fingers curling themselves over her scabbed knuckles. Kei snapped open her eyes and looked down, the little girl in red looking up at her. 

“ _He’s on higher ground,”_

“Station’s been cleared out,” Rick announced, instantly getting Kei’s attention as he exited the station, “We’re gonna check all the bars, liquor stores. A couple people had guns nobody knew about. They might still be there.”

Kei looked from the leader to the empty space next to her. She looked back to Rick and followed after him as he and the others continued down the sidewalk.

“How can you be sure?” She asked.

“I was a cop here, I signed the permits for ‘em,” He answered, looking around at his old hometown. Even though it wasn’t shown on his face, he still had a hard time believing that this desolate wasteland was once home. Trash was littered everywhere, store windows were broken, a few buildings were even burned. Two things had both thrown him off and peaked his interest. One was the arrows spray-painted on the ground, and two was the lack of corpses. There were no walkers to be seen. The streets were empty, and there was little to no blood on the ground. 

Rick’s steely blue eyes wandered around the area as he attempted to search for life. Some sort of movement whether it was from the living or the dead. This place was seemingly empty.

The lanky man looked to his left and stared into an opening that lead to a courtyard. He stopped in his tracks when he saw what was ahead. There in the center of the yard was a large pile of charred bodies. A light sheen of smoke still rose from the pile. The person (or people) that did this had done it recently. The man’s lips drew to a thin line as he placed his hand on the butt of his gun. He stomped on forward, looking up at the wall next to him to read the sign painted with what looked like dried blood.

**AWAY WITH YOU.**

The four followed the spray painted arrows and turned the corner onto Main Street. Rick and Carl slid out their guns while Michonne reached in back and gripped the handle of her sword. Kei kept her pistol out and gripped it as they marveled at the scenery before them.

“What is it?” Michonne whispered.

“I dunno,” Rick rasped, looking ahead and staring in wariness at what he saw. The main street had transformed. It no longer looked as welcoming as it once did. It looked like a war zone. Overturned tables and chairs were set up everywhere, along with barricades and strings of barbed wire. Sharpened sticks and metal poles with knife attatchments stuck out everywhere like needles on a pin cushion. Animals such as pigeons and rats were caged and set up everywhere, clearly being used as bait. Warning signs were spray painted everywhere along fences and walls. 

**JUST LISTEN**

**TURN AROUND AND LIVE**

**LISTEN UP ASSHOLE**

**GO AWAY**

Kei’s footsteps were light and cautious as they entered no man’s land. Her coal black eyes jutted about every which way, waiting for something or someone to make a move. 

“It looks like someone’s already made this theirs,” Michonne spoke, her tone wary and uneasy.

“Doesn’t mean they found what we’re looking for,” The leader reasoned as he stepped over a line of barbed wire, “A couple of the places are just up ahead. Let’s get in, and get the hell outta here.” 

Kei’s eyes wandered up to the roofs before looking over to Rick. He ducked down under some barbed wire. Michonne and Carl ducked down as well, Kei being the last as Rick pointed to a run down bar up ahead

“There, Terell’s, Shotgun and two handguns,” He announced while walking on, “Liscense issued to Terell Debbs.”

Kei turned around sharply at the sound of hissing as it grew louder. A female walker limped in their direction, staring right at them with its milky white eyes. Michonne slipped out her sword and stepped forward to take care of it, but Rick held his hand out and said “Wait.” The woman stopped and turned to look back at him.

“She’ll get caught,” He assured, watching the Walker as it staggered right into the trip wire. Right as its body hit the wire, a little bell jingled and a gunshot rang out. The back of the walker’s head burst open and it fell backwards. Kei turned around sharply in the shooter’s direction and looked up above. On the roof of the building across from them was a masked man with a sniper rifle. He yelled out for them to put their hands up and all four of them obliged.

“Now you drop what you got, and you go!” His rough muffled voice barked out, “Your guns, your shoes, and those swords! All of it! Ten seconds!” 

“Run to the car now,” Kei heard Rick mutter out. Carl leaned in closer as the masked man started his countdown.

“ _TEN!”_

“Dad—“ 

“We need that rifle!” Michonne hissed. Kei watched the masked man closely, her coal black eyes scanning over his surroundings. 

“ _NINE!”_

“ _EIGHT!”_

“I think I can get up there,” Michonne whispered firmly.

“ _SEVEN!” He barked out,“SIX!”_

“…Carl go,” Rick knelt down and fired his gun right at the masked man. Carl ran for the building across from them while Michonne sunk down and weaved in and out. Kei bolted into action and attempted to look for cover, firing at the shooter as she ran behind a car. She held her gun out and pointed at the shooter, firing only two shots before the masked man fired back. 

“Kei!!” She heard Rick’s voice call out.

The girl looked in Rick’s direction for a split second when she suddenly felt something hot slash the skin of her arm. She jerked back and dropped to her knees, pain suddenly shooting across her upper forearm. She looked down and saw a thick red line of blood starting to form. Something must’ve just grazed her.

“Fuck!” She barked through gritted teeth, gripping her forearm tight as blood began to seep out, “Son of a—”

In a surge of anger she rehandled her weapon and shot up straight, pointing it back at the roof. Her eyes widened when she saw that her target wasn’t there. Michonne was on the next roof over, looking just as confused as she was. No one had taken him out, he vanished. She looked to her right and saw Rick stand up from behind a truck, gun still pointed out towards the roof. Michonne looked down at him and shrugged in confusion, looking around to see if he was still around. Kei took a step towards Rick, but ducked down when another shot was fired at the car. She dropped to her knees once more as a hail of gunfire was rained on her barricade. She listened as one gunshot after another went off. It wasn’t until one last shot from a handgun that it all finally ceased. She heard Carl’s gun go off, and then a body hitting the ground with a thud. She stood up slowly, looking over the car and staring at the gunman’s body on the ground. The rest of her group had crowded around him with their weapons out. Michonne had her sword pointed at his throat.

Kei took a few deep breaths as she gripped her injured forearm with her free hand and walked up to the rest of her group. Carl’s blue eyes looked up and stared over at her in shock. Blood was running down her arm and dripping from her fingertips. 

“Kei—”

“It’s fine,” She grunted, “It just stings a little. It’s fine, I promise.” 

“He’s alive,” Rick announced, pulling up the gunman’s shirt to reveal a bruise. Kei looked down and noticed the body armor that Rick must’ve pulled off of him. A gold bullet was lodged right in the side. Damn.

“Do we care?” Michonne asked, lowering her sword a little more towards his throat. Rick slipped off the man’s helmet and took off the mask, revealing a man with worn dark skin and a scruffy beard. Kei eyed the man visciously and waited for Rick to give the okay to kill the guy, but he didn’t. He didn’t say anything, he just stared at the man, wide eyed, like he’d seen a ghost. 

“…Yeah,” He replied, his voice rough and raspy, “We do...” 


	33. Clear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He tried to kill us twice today,” She reasoned, gently placing a clean gauze pad over his injury, “Your friend is gone, Rick.”
> 
> “He isn’t,” He rasped slowly, his eyes looking down at Kei’s, “He’s right there, in front of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE FUCKIN' DID IT!  
> Season 4 has officially started, guys! WOOHOOO! Last night's episode was crazy good!  
> NYCC was a total blast too! I got to meet Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard and I practically died, i swear.  
> Unfortunately, I missed The Walking Dead panel because seats filled up fast, but next year will be different!  
> Haha, I still had fun though, and I hope everyone's having fun, too! Enjoy xx

Morgan was his name. Morgan Jones. The asshole who shot them was also the hero who saved Rick’s life after he woke up from his coma. They had managed to drag him back inside his house, which in fact was a living death trap. There were spikes under the welcome mat, along with a trip wire placed on the stairs. If you touched it just a little, an axe would swing down and bury right into your skull. Welcoming indeed. Despite all that, it was all very well made, Kei thought. If they were to take this place, they would at least be safe, and not just from walkers. 

When they officially entered the safer side of Morgan’s home, they entered the jackpot. The man was loaded to the brim with guns, ammo, food, medical supplies; the man even had an entire military crate of grenades just sitting there. All of what they needed was strewn and stacked up everywhere. After Michonne helped Rick set Morgan down on his cot, she got right to work with Carl and started loading up some duffel bags. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai_mat_said_welcome/set?id=80342145&lid=1950767) sat herself down on a crate and gripped her arm tight, trying to take deep calming breaths as her arm began to throb and sting.

“Hey,” She heard Rick say, getting down on one knee in front of her, “Lemme see that.”

Kei gently lifted her bloodied hand and watched as Rick gently gripped her arm. 

“You're gonna need stitches,” He said quickly, turning around towards the white cabinet in a hurry, “Lemme see what he has.” 

“Just give me,” She breathed, swallowing the lump in her throat, “Give me floss and…a needle….and some vodka or something.”

“Lemme see,” Rick spoke, “Carl, look for a needle, something sharp to try and stitch it up with.”

Kei wiped her sweaty forehead and watched as Rick and Carl rushed around looking for supplies. Rick had found some steril gauze pads and a bottle of saline, but dental floss and a needle were nowhere to be found. The leader got down on one knee and tried to hold her arm as gently as he could, pouring out the saline solution over her wound. Kei screwed her eyes shut and waited for the searing sting to shoot up her arm again, but she didn’t feel a thing. In fact, it felt…normal, like cold water being dumped over her arm. Kei cracked open one eye and watched as some of the excess blood washed off. Rick quickly wiped around her injury before placing gauze right over it.

“We really need to stitch this up, but I think this’ll do for now. Keep pressing on it while I look in the first aid kits. You’re gonna be fine, okay?” 

Kei lowered her head and nodded, trying to take calm breaths in and out of her nose and mouth. Rick tore away momentarily and continued his search. Carl slowly approached her, his eyes filled with worry.

“Kei, are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, don’t— don’t worry,” She hissed.

“Here, I found this,” Michonne spoke quickly, setting down a thick bag that was patterned in camouflage. She got down on her knees and opened up the bag, revealing tons of military medical supplies. She sifted through all supplies until she pulled out a small plastic box, inside a set of needles and sutures. 

She set them to the side and dug through the bag some more, pulling out a small packet of pain killers and some bandage gauze. She handed the small foil packet over to Carl, demanding that he open them and give them to Kei. The boy obliged without hesitation and quickly opened the packet, handing over two white tablets. Kei opened her mouth and accepted the medicine, quickly dry swallowing it as Michonne scooted closer. Her stomach started to twist, and she started to feel dizzy as the idea of what was about to happen finally hit her. Rick knelt down beside Michonne and looked straight at the dark haired girl in the eyes, trying to keep her focused on him as Michonne cleaned the needle. The woman gently lifted Kei’s hand off the wound and earned a sharp hiss from the girl in return.

“Agh fuck!” She gritted out, “Aghhhh…” 

She let out another hiss and screwed her eyes shut as Michonne pressed the skin together with her fingers. She stuck the needle in the skin quickly and started stitching. Carl sat loyally by Kei’s side, gripping her hand tight as Michonne focused and carefully stitched the skin back together. Rick kept his eyes on Kei and gave her encouragement from time to time, saying things like “you’re doing great,” and “just a little more now.” She didn’t feel great, and it felt like it was taking forever. The room was heating up, and the floor was starting to shift a little. Kei’s grip on Carl’s hand was beginning to loosen. She was starting to grow pale and sick looking, and her skin was moist; borderline clammy. The girl closed her eyes and swallowed deeply, her stomach twisting and wrenching more and more. God, she felt dizzy. She rested her head on Carl’s and felt her body grow limp. The last thing she had managed to hear was Carl saying her name.

  
She opened up her eyes and blinked a few times, looking up at a slightly blurry ceiling. She moved her fingertips and felt that she was on a blanket of some kind. A hard wood floor was underneath. Okay, she was still alive, in the house, and on the floor. She could hear people talking nearby, but didn’t see their faces. She struggled a little, but she managed to turn her head to the other side, looking up at Rick and Michonne.

“He tried to kill us and we didn’t leave him for the walkers, he’s had a good day,” Michonne argued, “He doesn’t need half of these guns, we do.”

“We’re waitin’ for him to wake up, that’s it,” Rick demanded.

“Have you taken a good look around this place?” Michonne asked, “The axe? The spikes? The walls?”

“You think he’s crazy?!” Rick asked, his voice raising slightly.

“No,” She answered calmly while eyeing the leader, “I think he’s dangerous,” 

The leader ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

“I know him,” He rasped firmly.

“He wasn’t like this then,” She said, quoting what he had told her earlier.

“….We’re gonna wait for him to wake up,” He repeated, turning around to check back on Morgan. Kei shifted her head a little to look back down at her forearm. Clean white gauze was neatly wrapped around it; her hands and fingers had all the dried blood cleaned off as well. She used her good arm to prop herself up and sit up straight. Carl was the first to notice her and his eyes widened. 

“Kei!” He chirped, rushing to her side to help her sit up, “Kei you’re okay?” 

“Of course,” She laughed groggily, rubbing her aching temple, “How long was I out?” 

“Not long, maybe five minutes,” Michonne answered, “We’re waiting for Morgan to wake up.”

“So I heard,” Kei muttered.

“You alright down there?” She heard Rick call out from Morgan’s cot. Kei raised her good arm and gave him a thumbs up from the foot of his bed. After doing so, Carl and Michonne helped Kei up from the floor and sat her down on a crate by all of the ammo. Michonne gave her a bottle of water, and the two of them watched as Rick bound Morgan’s wrists with a pair of zip tie handcuffs. Kei’s eyes wandered from the passed out man, to the writing above him. In bold red letters were the words **CLEAR.** Clear was everywhere; scratched in the floors, etched in chalk on the walls. Words and phrases that made no sense were written everywhere. 

**CLEAR.**

**WE HAD THE DOORKNOB, YOU HAD THE KNIFE**

**SIXTEEN HOURS ON THE SIXTEENTH FLOOR**

_**HIGHER GROUND** _

_**HIGHER GROUND** _

_**HIGHER GROUND** _

Kei stared at those two words, the little girl’s whisper ringing in her hears. Higher ground.

“What do you see?” She heard Rick ask. Her eyes fell down on the leader and saw that he was staring at Carl’s back. She followed his gaze and saw Carl in the other room, staring out at a large handrawn map on the wall.

“It’s our neighborhood,” He answered, his eyes wandering over the streets and buildings made of chalk, “It’s gone…”

Rick shifted in place and shoved one hand in his pocket.

“Is that why you wanted to come?” He asked, staring at the back of his Sherriff’s hat, “See the house?”

No answer. The boy continued to just stare up at the wall. Kei couldn’t see his face, but she could tell that he was in some form of shock, disbelief.

“Carl,” Rick called, his voice seeming to finally get through to the boy.

“I…” The boy shook his head, his eyes still locked on the map in front of him, “I-I just wanted to come.” 

_CrunchCrunchCrunchCrunch…._ Kei furrowed and looked to her right, watching Michonne as she dug into a small bag of potato chips. The woman simply munched away, holding the bag out to the injured girl as Rick turned around. The man raised his eyebrows at the two, watching as they started eating.

“We’re eatin’ his food now?”

“Mat said ‘Welcome’,” Michonne answered, giving him a simple shrug as she dug back into the bag. Kei pulled out a chip and popped it into her mouth, chewing away at it and marveling in the salty fried potato taste. She had forgotten how good chips were, how rich and flavorful they tasted. Michonne placed the bag in her lap, telling her that she needed to eat because she lost blood. As Kei continued to eat away, Carl came back in and looked firmly at his father.

“I’m going on a run,” He announced.

“Where?” Rick asked, quirking his eyebrow in surprise.

“I thought…maybe the one thing people didn’t loot was cribs,” The boy suggested, “And there’s that baby place that mom’s friend Sarah ran. It’s just around the corner.” 

“Carl—”

“Dad, it’s just around the corner!” Carl plead, “And there’s all those walker traps…” 

“You’re gonna need some help carrying the box,” Michonne spoke out, all eyes turning to her. Carl looked over at her quizzically, one eyebrow arching upward.

“What?”

“If you’re gonna get the crib, you’ll have to get the box,” She specified, her dark eyes looking over at the young boy, “It’s big, and heavy, you’re gonna need help carrying the box…You are getting a crib, right?”

The 13 year old pursed his lips at the woman before nodding, looking back to his dad and nodding as well.

“That’s what I said,” 

“Then I’ll go with him,” Michonne announced simply, earning a hesitant look from Rick and a wary one from Kei.

“I can go,” Kei offered out. She turned around and looked back to see Rick shaking his head.

“No you need to stay, rest your arm,” He insisted, standing up straight and looking over to his son, “Right there, that’s the deal. You get into trouble, you holler, okay? I’ll hear it from here.” 

Carl nodded firmly with a small “okay.” As Michonne got up and assembled her gear, Carl walked over to Kei and gave her a tight hug. She pressed her lips against the side of his head before leaning into his ear.

“Be careful,” She muttered, “Be careful with her.” She kissed the side of his head once more before letting him go. Carl nodded and gave her a small smile before turning around to leave. Michonne followed after him, leaving her and Rick alone with Morgan.

Kei sat down and watched as Rick paced around the room. He stared at all the graffiti on the walls and all the weapons on the floor. The girl could tell that he was lost in his thoughts. He had that far off look on his face, his eyes looking over at something non-existent. She could tell that he was remembering things, remembering her.  
  
“Do you see her?” The girl asked, watching as her leader turned around to look at her, “Lori, I mean.” 

The man didn’t flinch, nor did his expression change. He just simply turned away, looking back at the walls.

“I know you see her sometimes,” Kei spoke, her voice lowering as she looked to the floor, “You’re not the only one…”

Her dark eyes fluttered back up to the leader. He was looking at her, his blue eyes wavering.

“I saw my dead sister back at the police station,” She sighed, “I still see her, and Lori…but only when I’m asleep.”

Silence.

“I never apologized, for—”

“Don’t,” His rough voice begged, “D-Don’t…s’fine.”

Kei let her head fall as she looked to the floor, letting out a small sigh before looking back up at him. She forced a small smile and nudged her head in Morgan’s direction.

“Think he’ll care if I eat another bag of chips? I’m starving,” 

Rick looked at her for a minute, the corner of his mouth perking upwards as he let out a small scoff. He shook his head at her, pointing towards the kitchen.

“Go right ahead,” 

Kei lifted herself up off the crate and walked over, patting his shoulder before she made her way into the kitchen. She sifting through the cabinets for any chips or crackers, something that would be easy to open with one free hand. She found an awfully large supply of canned beans and fruit, but not a single box of anything that didn’t require being cooked first. She pulled out a can of pineapple chunks and set it on the kitchen counter, letting out a small sigh as she looked around for a can opener amongst all the dirty dishes and supplies that were strewn everywhere. 

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” She heard Rick mutter from the other room. She turned and saw Rick wandering around the room, stopping to look down at a sniper rifle propped up against the wall. He picked it up and began inspecting it, running his hand over its detail. Kei furrowed a little at the look on his face, like he had seen a ghost, an echo of a bitter memory. He must’ve recognized the gun, almost as well as he recognized the man passed out on the cot. 

Another growl in her stomach. Kei gently placed her hand on her stomach and turned away, going back to looking for the can opener. She heard something small fall to the ground with a little _clink_ , but paid no mind to it. She continued to sift through drawers and cabinets, but perked up when she heard feet thump rapidly across the floor boards. She turned around sharply and watched as Morgan charged at Rick, only to be knocked back by the butt of the rifle in Rick’s hand. He toppled over into a pile of boxes and looked up at Rick, his eyes wild and a knife gripped tightly in his right hand.

“Do you know who I am?” Rick asked out, his voice pleading and frantic. Kei rushed forward to grab for her gun, but Rick quickly held his hand out to her, “Stay back!” He turned back to Morgan, pointing to himself, “Do you see who I am?!” 

“People wear dead people’s faces!” Morgan spat.

“Morgan, listen—“

“No! I DON’T KNOW YOU!” The man shouted out.

“YOU DO KNOW ME!” Rick shouted, stumbling back as Morgan shot upwards and struck at him like a viper. Rick quickly grabbed hold of the man’s arms and spun him around, shoving him into the wall and pinning him there. The two men struggled against each other like a pair of wild animals; Eyes wide, breathing ragged, faces contorted into menacing snarls. Morgan struggled against Rick’s grip, his wild eyes looking over Rick not as a human, not as the man whom he and his son saved, but as a threat—something vile, something no better than a walker. 

Rick saw Kei move from the corner of his eye and start making a beeline towards her sword.

“Kei I said stay back!” He warned, his eyes locked onto the frantic man before him, “You saved my life Morgan! You know me!”

Morgan had managed to shift and bring up his knee into Rick’s stomach. The leader lurched forward and fell back when Morgan shoved him to the floor. Rick’s head smacked against the floor hard, his vision flashing hot white for a minute as he heard Kei call out his name. He heard feet shifting about, and things were being knocked over. He heard glass break, and Kei’s voice as she snarled and snapped at the foul man before her. He slowly turned his head and saw Morgan with Kei’s sheathed katana in his hand. He chucked it as hard as he could into the kitchen and lunged for Kei as she tried to run for it. He grabbed her by the arms and shoved her back, her legs stumbling over the wooden chest as her back and head smacked against the wall. She toppled over onto the floor, and before Rick could scramble to his feet, a mass amount of weight suddenly smacked down on him. Morgan hovered over him, sitting on the man’s waist and planting one knee on the floor. He brought the knife down on Rick once more, the young sherrif gripping his wrist in one hand, and Morgan’s neck with the other. 

“You don’t clear me!” He growled, struggling against Rick’s iron grip, “You turned, you just died!” 

“You know me!” The man beneath him cried out.

“I DON’T KNOW ANYONE ANYMORE!” Morgan screamed out, using his hand to press down harder against Rick’s loosening hold, “YOU…DON’T…CLEAR!” 

Kei snapped open her eyes and watched as the knife’s blade disappeared into Rick’s shoulder, her heart leapt up into her throat, and without thought she frantically scrambled to her feet. Rick arched up and let out an ear splitting scream, and with a surge of adrenaline and anger he managed to knock Morgan off of him. Kei staggered into the kitchen and fumbled for her sword. She grabbed it quickly and slid it out, rushing forward to end this and hack Morgan’s head right off. Once she stepped into the living room, she found Morgan backed up against the wall, his bloodied knife on the floor, and Rick holding his gun out.

“You know me!” Rick spat, gripping his gun tight and pointing it to Morgan’s forehead, “You crazy son of a bitch!!”

Morgan’s eyes went big and his arms spread out wide, as if looking at his own salvation. He latched on to Rick’s wrist and pressed the gun further into his forehead.

“Please,” He begged out, “Please kill me…”

Rick yanked his arm away and stumbled back, clearly thrown off by the man’s behavior. 

“Please,” Morgan begged, his voice shaking and melting into a sob, “Please…”

* * *

 

“How’s your head?” Rick asked, flinching and letting out a hiss as Kei carefully did the remaining stitch.

“It’s fine,” She answered simply, her dark eyes shifting over to the whimpering man on the floor. He continued to mutter and moan “Just kill me,” under his breath, those three words becoming a mantra for the distraught man sitting on the box of grenades. 

“May I kill him,” She asked her leader in a small whisper. Rick’s steely blue eyes shifted from Morgan to her, seeing that she was dead serious right now. He shook his head at her, looking over to Morgan as he continued to chant and whimper for death.

“No,” He whispered back.

“He tried to kill us twice today,” She reasoned, gently placing a clean gauze pad over his injury, “Your friend is gone, Rick.”

“He isn’t,” He rasped slowly, his eyes looking down at Kei’s, “He’s right there, in front of us.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything these days,” She answered, gently wrapping a bandage over his shoulders and chest. Rick’s eyes fluttered to the floor as Kei finished her work and helped him slip back into his shirt. His eyes went back over to Morgan, watching as the broken man continued to beg and plead for him and Kei to just end him there and now. Hearing him say it, seeing the guy who fought so hard for his son and him to survive, it was unreal. This couldn’t be it. There was a reason why they were brought back together, and he wasn’t just going to give it all up now.

“You found me last year in my front yard,” Rick spoke, watching as Morgan finally ceased his chanting, “Morgan, you and…you found me. You fed me, you told me what’s happening, and you _saved_ me. My name is Rick Grimes, you know me, and I’m not wearing a dead man’s face.”

He stepped forward and reached into the small metal basket placed in front of Morgan. Kei stepped forward and watched as he got on one knee and pulled out an old and dusty walkie talkie.

“I gave you this,” Rick spoke, “I said I’d turn it on every day at dawn so you could find me.” 

Morgan stared at the radio for moment, silent, slowly registering everything the man had just said. The man’s tired eyes slowly made their way up to Rick’s, and the two of them could practically see the cloudy fog begin to clear.

“…Rick?” He spoke, his rough voice growing soft and small as realization began seeping in, “I know you…Oh man, dammit I— I know you, I know…who you are.”

The leader watched as Morgan’s dull eyes fell onto the radio.

“You said you’d turn yours on at dawn, that’s what you said,” He recalled, “I mean I handn’t…worked up to it yet and…then I did, on the roof, every morning for—for days days, for weeks, me and my boy and then…me.”

Rick’s lips curled inwards, remembering the two words he had seen spray painted in big red letters on the wall only minutes ago.

**DUANE TURNED.**

“Just static though,” Morgan said, his voice growing bitter by the second, “Nothing but static…and then nothin’ but nothin’…”

He turned his head and looked up at Rick, hurt suddenly overcoming his expression.

“You weren’t there,” He spoke out, his tone riddled with pain, “You were never there.” 

“I was,” Rick muttered.

“No not when I tried!” Morgan argued, his voice growing louder by the second, “I mean you said you would turn your radio on, every day at dawn!”

“Morgan—”

“You said you would turn on your radio EVERY DAY AT DAWN! AND YOU WERE NOT THERE!”

The two men paused for a second, looking at each other with wide eyes. Rick shifted as Morgan looked at him with conviction, his posture firm and his eyes as accusing and painful as his voice. Rick wiped his sweaty forehead with one shaking hand and tried his hardest to keep calm.

“I kept gettin’ pushed farther out,” He explained as he got up to his feet, “I had to, I didn’t have a choice…I found my wife, and my boy. I had people, I…I had to keep them safe. We kept gettin’ pushed back, deeper into the country, and I swear to _God_ …I didn’t have a choice…”

Kei watched as Morgan kicked the radio over in Rick’s direction, staring at the tall man bitterly.

“You can have your radio back, cause it looks like I finally found you!” He spat, “You found your wife! And your son, that’s what what’s happened right?! You found them.”

Kei watched the two men as they eyed each other, staring into one anothers soul and gazing at the demons that clung to them. 

“Your wife, did she turn?” Morgan asked, keeping his eyes locked on Rick as his steely blues looked to the floor.

“…No,”

“Your boy, is he dead?” He asked.

Rick swallowed the lump in his throat as he shook his head,

“No…”

“He will be…‘cause people like you, the good people, they always die, and the bad people do too,” Morgan spoke with a broken smile, “But the weak people, the people like me, we have inherited the earth.”

Kei watched as Rick ran a hand through his hair in stress as he paced around a little. Morgan remained silent, still, his eyes peering over to the window only several feet away from him.

“I’m not gonna kill you,” Rick said finally, “I don’t think that’s what supposed to happen. I think you’re supposed to come back with us.” 

Kei watched as the broken man gave a half hearted laugh and shook his head.

“After all that?” Morgan asked, “After me tryin’a blow your head off, stab ya heart out, happily ever after together?”

“You couldn’t kill me, I couldn’t kill you, I’ll take that as a sign,” Rick stated.

Morgan let out a scoff and shook his head again, watching as Rick stepped over and knelt down beside him.

“We found a prison,” He informed, “The fences can keep ‘em out.” 

“Is that where your wife died?” Morgan asked.

There was a long pause. Rick slowly stood back up and shifted in place, watching as Morgan scoffed and shook his head.

“Just go,” He seethed, “Don’t go back, don’t stop, just get yourself some more time.”

“Look, I can help you,” The leader reasoned, walking up to the man and getting close, “You can come back with us, you can _heal—_ ”

“You’re takin’ a lot of guns, Rick,” Morgan stated, watching as his friend’s lips curled inward, “Nah I’m just saying that that all is alotta guns…Why you need the guns, Rick? Cause if you got something good that just means that there’s someone who wants to take it. And that’s what’s happenin’, right?”

“We’re gonna win,” Rick rasped rirmly, “You can be there, you can help.”

“You will be torn apart by teeth or bullets,” Morgan bit, “You and your boy, your people, but not me! Because I am NOT gonna watch that happen again!”

Rick’s lips pursed into a thin line as the two of them stared each other down. Kei stared at the two men as well, and couldn’t help but wonder why Rick was trying so hard to bring him back. If he had something good here, why not let him keep it? 

And then it dawned on her. He was trying to fix him. Not just Morgan, but himself as well. If he could bring his friend back and fix him up, then that proved that he could bring himself back and fix himself up too.

After another half hour of debating, Rick finally caved and left Morgan to his own devices. The man had stood firm the entire time Rick plead with him. His only answer, the reason that seemed to be above all reasons was “I have to clear.” 

“I have to clear,” He’d say, “I have to man, I have to clear.” Over and over. He had to clear, what did that even mean? Kei thought about it as she attempted to lug along two duffle bags full of weapons and ammo on her good shoulder. She walked alongside Rick, and when the two came outside, Michonne and Carl were approaching with a crib and some baby stuff inside.

“Hey,” Rick called, watching as his son and Michonne walked up to him, “I was just about to look for you.”

“Sorry,” Carl chirped, stopping in front of his dad to look at the blood stain on his shirt. Michonne looked down at it as well, growing concern etched on their expressions. The leader merely shook his head and assured that it was nothing. 

After gathering up their things, the four of them made their way back to the car. Kei watched as Morgan gathered up the bodies that had gotten caught on the walker traps, and placed them face down on a hospital gurney. He would then tie them down, and cart them over to the burn pile they had seen earlier in the courtyard. 

Once they retreated back to the car, Rick opened up the trunk and the four of them began to pack up their findings. As Kei tossed in a plastic bag full of food, she noticed something latched onto Michonne’s backpack. It was a crossbow, brand spanking new with a sleek looking set of bolts. She stared at the weapon for a minute, the very thought that Michonne would go out of her way to get something like that for someone in their group was…amazing. Nice even.

“That for you?” She asked, earning a small smirk from the woman next to her.

“Figured Daryl might have better use for it than I would,” She answered, her smirk turning into a full on smile. Michonne went on to shove the duffle bags into the back seat, leaving Carl Rick and Kei to the trunk.

“Everything okay with her?” Rick asked, looking down at his son curiously. Carl looked up from his father’s hat, his big blue eyes seeming brighter than normal, a faint smile on his lips.

“I think she might be one of us,” Rick’s eyebrows raised up in surprise as he put his hands on his hips.

“What?”

Kei couldn’t help but smile as the 13 year old smiled, a fond memory apparent on his face as he let out an airy laugh and looked back up at his dad.

“Everything went okay,” He replied honestly. Rick looked down at his son with a grin before looking over at Kei. She smiled back as well, patting Carl’s shoulder lightly as Rick told them to head inside. Carl snuggled up close to Kei in the back while Michonne and Rick talked outside for a bit. Once they were done, Michonne took the wheel again and drove while Rick sat beside her in the passenger’s seat. They wheeled back around and started making their way home, traveling down that empty winding highway once more.

A few days went by without a word from Andrea. It wasn’t until early morning that Andrea had come by with a car this time, and told Rick that The Governor wanted to meet with him to discuss peace terms. Rick gave her directions to an abandoned feed mill they had passed on their way to Woodbury. It was there that they would talk, and finally try to work it out like civilized people. Kei didn’t want “civilized” though, and neither did Merle. Merle wanted the guy dead, and Kei wanted to be the one to do it. 

“ _If you and Ren come with, you have to promise not to kill him,” Rick said firmly, staring at Kei with a dead serious look. Kei looked back up at him from her bunk bed, her dark eyes colder and more menacing than usual._

“ _I mean it, Ren can’t go off on him either,” He demanded._

_She smirked at the idea; seeing the red wolf snarl and charge at the one eyed man, her teeth gnashing at his neck and ripping his throat out. Her eyes flicked back over to her leader, nodding firmly._

“ _She won’t,” She assured, her lips forming the faintest of smirks, “Unless he threatens us”_

“ _Well if it all goes south, feel free to do so,” Rick assured, “Gear up, we’re leaving at noon.”_

 _Kei nodded firmly and got her stuff ready, packing up two extra clips along with her sword and pistol._[ Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=94982508) stood patiently in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he watched Kei get ready.

“ _You’re really going,”_

“ _I want to be there to end it when The Governor makes his move,” She replied._

“If _he makes his move,” He corrected._

“When _,” She re-corrected, “You of all people know that the guy doesn’t play fair.”_

“ _All the more reason why you of all people shouldn’t go,” He retorted, pushing himself off of the door frame, “He wants you and Michonne for all the wrong reasons. He was gonna keep you hostage as his little toy for fuck’s sake. He—”_

“ _I’m no one’s little toy,” She interrupted, shouldering her weapon and standing up straight, “I’m going, and that’s that.”_

_Sen stared at her firmly, his lips curling inward as his best friend started to walk past him. Just as she walked out of her cell, she felt a hand gently grip her arm and hold her there._

“ _Kei,” She heard his low voice utter,_ “ _ **If he puts his hands on you again, cut them off.**_ ”


	34. Arrow on the Doorpost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She cares though, about you and that old guy, Andrea too,” He heard Martinez sigh, exhaling smoke into the afternoon air. A smile appeared on his face as he let out a scoff through his nose, “God, the way she looks at us, like she wants to rip us apart with her teeth.”

_Darling is what she liked to be called. It was funny, because if you crossed her she was anything but. Darling was a stocky 35 year old woman with wiry blonde hair and a round face covered in freckles. She had a 3 year old son and a fat orange tabby cat waiting for her in the outside world. The reason she was stuck in Women’s Correctional was because she shot her husband square in the chest on their “surprise hunting trip”. She plead not guilty in court, saying that she simply mistook him for a wimpy little deer, but the Jury didn’t buy it. It figured as much. After she got locked up, she’d often laugh it off with the other prisoners, telling the truth with a proud “hell yeah I did it! I’d do it again if I could!” Darling was like that; upfront, bold, and protective. There was nothing she loved more than her own, and when someone threatened her own, there was hell to pay._

“ _It was a present,” she’d often tell Kei, referring back to the hunting trip with her husband, “A little gift from me, after catching him with his fucking hands down my baby’s pants. Two hands, two rounds.”_

_Kei’s 16 year old self admired Darling. She was Atlanta’s amazon, a warrior, a fierce protector who wasn’t afraid of anything. Everything Kei had learned while staying in Women’s Correctional, she had learned from Darling. During cleaning duty, Darling would often go into the janitor’s closet and pick up the broken end of an old broom. She’d bring it out and show Kei how to hold and aim a typical hunting rifle. She promised the young girl that when the both of them got out, she’d take her out to go duck hunting._

_And Kei held her to that._

_She had every intention to go hunting, but not for ducks. She was out to hunt monsters, the monsters who had managed to survive her wrath when she was only eight years old._

_At 16, she decided to escape (with Darling in tow) by starting a fire in the janitor’s closet. While the chemicals burned and chaos spread across the prison, a bunch of women took the chance and made a break for freedom. Only six women had managed to escape, and out of those six, only two had fully managed to get away. Kei hunkered down at Darling’s sister’s house. The woman was so drunk all the time, it didn’t even register to her when Darling walked into the house still in her prison garb. It didn’t phase her when Kei and Darling raided her drawers and gathered a bunch of her clothes, or when Darling took her little boy and her fat tabby cat to her car._

_Darling’s sister just laid there on the couch, mumbling inebriated nonsense while Darling took everything she needed form her: the keys to her car, the cash in her wallet, and the hunting rifle their late father had placed in the garage._

_Darling dropped[ Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=86265497) off only a block away from the house. THE house. The one where she planned to tie up loose ends in. Darling didn’t have much to give in the first place, but she gave the girl something to say thanks. She handed over a 20 dollar bill, and her father’s old hunting rifle._

“ _You’re gonna need it,” She said, watching as the 16 year old marveled at the weapon. She reached out slowly and took it into her hands. She gripped it tight, weighing it in her palms, briefly getting the feel of it before shouldering the strap. The 35 year old looked down at the girl fondly and took her into a tight hug, pressing her pale lips to her ear._

“ _Give ‘em hell,” She whispered out._

Kei opened her eyes, blinking a few times before squinting. She kept her cheek pressed into Daryl’s angel winged vest as they sped down an old main road. Nothing but empty countryside with broken wire fences and abandoned mills. It was the perfect spot to discuss a truce between enemies, and it was a good spot to eliminate them as well.

She closed her eyes, listening to the loud roar of the motorcycle and the sound of the wind as it whipped around through her hair. Her grip around Daryl’s waist grew tight and she held him close as her mind began to drift. If only this were just a normal day, a day like any other before the world had ended—Riding around Georgia with him, the scent of cigarettes and leather on his jacket, and the feel of fresh air as they sped down the road. She would give anything to have a day like that with Daryl; just riding around for the sake of riding, just enjoying each other’s company, just enjoying freedom.

Kei opened her eyes when she felt the bike begin to slow down. They were approaching an abandoned feeding mill from the back, preparing to sneak in and scout around. Daryl pulled in and carefully parked his bike as Hershel and Rick drove up with the Hyundai. Rick slipped out of the passenger’s seat and opened up the back, allowing Ren to leap out and trot over to Daryl and Kei. Daryl retrieved his crossbow from the straps of his motorcycle and looked over at Kei as she slid out her katana. His blue eyes looked her over, his face stern, but his impulsive chewing on his lip saying otherwise.

“Be careful,”

Kei held her weapon firmly and nodded to him before looking down at Ren. She let out a sharp whistle and the red wolf darted ahead, scouting the area with Rick, Daryl, and Kei following suit. The creature trotted across the dead grass carefully, sniffing the dirt occasionally before rushing up ahead and sniffing the air. Daryl held his crossbow forward, his aim darting around as he looked every which way for an enemy. Kei kept her body low as she weaved in and around the large abandoned silos. This area was eerie, the metal that made up this place was old and rusted, and tended to howl and moan against the breeze. 

The four of them scouted the entire back of the silo before making their way towards the front. They stopped in their tracks when Ren froze in place and began furiously sniffing the air. Kei watched as a low growl erupted in the wolf’s throat, her back arching and her lips trembling as she bared her teeth. The red wolf darted across the grass and stopped only a foot or so short from a body sprawled out on the ground. Daryl rushed forward and stopped to look down at it carefully. As he put down his crossbow and got on one knee, Rick rushed up ahead while Kei ran to Daryl’s side. She looked down at the Walker body as well, but not before Rick let out a small and sharp “Pst!” 

The leader pointed over to the window on the side of the mill, and Daryl agreed to keep watch there. He picked up his crossbow and cautiously ran towards the window while Kei looked down at the body. A bullet hole laid smack dab in the center of the walker’s head. The wound was fresh, indicating only one thing: 

Someone was anxious to get this meeting started. 

So anxious that he showed up ahead of everyone else.

Kei’s heart began to thump in her ribcage and her muscles began to grow tense. _Breathe._ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out her nose. She opened her eyes and gripped the handle of her sword tightly, standing up straight before rushed up to Rick’s side. Ren remained by her side the entire time, and stayed with her as Rick stepped through a back entrance that had already been opened. The leader stepped into the darkness with his gun held steadily at his side, carefully looking around without a word to the girl in back of him. She followed Rick’s every move, her dark eyes scanning the room carefully as they made their way further in. 

The girl could hear Ren’s low and muffled growls as they approached the center of the room. She could smell something, Kei thought. She could smell _someone_. Rick slowly cocked his weapon as he stepped up to the table that had already been placed out. Only one chair sat at each end of the table, indicating this conversation was between the two leaders, and the two leaders alone. Ren suddenly let out a loud huff going on a mild bark. Something fell over, and the two instantly perked up. Footsteps. A pair of boots, thumping across the wooden floor. Movement in the shadows. Kei watched closely as a figure stepped out from the darkness, a man with one eye and a serious look on his face. 

Ren continued to growl and crouch further as The Governor stepped into the daylight. His unpatched eye glared at her as he walked forward, a halfcocked smile of faulty charm crossing his cheeks. Kei’s stomach began to twist as the image of the one-eyed man from her dream flashed across her mind. She watched as he stopped at the table and looked to each of them, suddenly raising his hands up in defense. Rick merely cocked his head while Kei quickly looked him over. One handgun in his belt, along with an extra clip. The Governor’s murky grey eye fell on her, and his smile suddenly grew bigger. Her dark eyes grew colder by the second. The Governor’s hands fell with his smile, and he looked to Rick with a serious expression. 

“You and I have a lot to talk about,” He spoke, his rough voice making Kei’s nose wrinkle. Just the very sound of his voice made her want to claw at him. She hated it. She hated everything about him.

“You attacked us,” Rick rasped, shifting in place, “Makes things pretty clear.” 

“I was tryna make things clear,” The man reasoned, “I could’ve killed you all, I didn’t.” 

“And here we are,” Rick retorted.

The minute The Governor moved his hands, Rick and Kei raised their pistols as quick as lightening. The two kept their guns pointed at the man while he raised his hands with a smile.

“I’m gonna remove my weapon,” He informed slowly, “To show that I’m gonna negotiate in good faith, I’d like you both to do the same.”

Ren snarled at the one-eyed man viciously, inching closer to his legs. Her golden eyes were dead set on his throat. One word was all it took. One word and she would rip it out of him.

“Mind removin’ your pet, too?” He asked, his head turning in Kei’s direction, “He’s makin’ me mighty nervous.”

“ _Mission accomplished, then._ ” She thought. All she wanted to do was yell for Ren to jump on the man and take a chunk out of his neck. That’d be the end of it, no one else would know what happened. He’d bleed out and turn into a walker, and then she’d have the satisfaction of killing him twice. 

But alas, Rick was giving her a look. _The_ look that meant he knew what she wanted, and warned her not to do it. She sniffed lightly and whistled to grab the wolf’s attention.

“Ren, _go,_ ” She instructed, her eyes still locked on the Governor and his shit-eating grin. Ren ceased her growls and snarls, but not before snapping her jaw at the man in warning. Rick’s lips twitched a small smile when the Governor jumped back a little. The red wolf leered at the one eyed man before she trotted back outside to be with Daryl and Hershel. Once it was just the three of them, The Governor slowly removed his holster and hung it up on the rack beside him.

“See? No trouble,” He let out, smiling lightly at the two wary prison members, “Now you two.” 

Rick kept his gun raised for a second before slowly putting it back in his holster. He had no intention of removing it, nor did Kei with her weapons. She simply reached in back and slid her sword back in its sheath.

“Suit yourself,” The man chirped, smiling as he took a seat at the table. Kei watched his movements carefully as he sat down. His jovial attitude, the way he reacted to Rick’s movements, it was no different than how he treated her when they had first met. She wouldn’t be fooled by his “nice simple man” demeanor again, and The Governor knew it, but Rick was a new set of eyes; a fresh mind to try and play with. 

Rick continued to stand, even after The Governor offered for him to take a seat. 

“Well either one of you can have the chair,” He offered, his one good eye looking over to the girl, “Kei?”

Just hearing her name come out of his mouth made her muscles tense. She pursed her lips at him, her eyes bearing daggers at his own. He could tell, and that very fact made the smile on his lips grow once again. He was picking away at her, inch by inch. 

Kei swallowed the lump in her throat and opened her mouth to speak, but a loud screech from the front door opening had stopped her. [Andrea](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=82240336) slipped in, the midday sun shining down on her blonde hair like a halo before she stepped into semi-dark room.

“What’s going on?” She asked, looking to the 3 of them quizzically.

“Nothin’,” The Governor said simply, “Nothin' so much as small talk.” 

“Well if you wanna talk, talk,” Rick spoke.

“ _I_ wanted you to talk,” Andrea proclaimed, “Too many people have died for no reason. Let’s end this—save the bullets for the real threat.” 

The corner of Kei’s mouth perked up as Andrea stepped up to the table. For a moment, she sounded just like Dale.

“We can solve this,” She assured, looking sternly at the two men, “That’s why I asked you to come here.”

“I know what you’ve done,” Rick seethed, his eyes still bearing down on the Governor. Kei and Andrea looked over to the leader, watching as hatred and mistrust radiated off of him. The eyepatched man simply shifted in his seat, his expression more curious rather than uncomfortable.

“I heard about the raids, the heads…Maggie,” He spoke, his eyes locked on the enemy, “Don’t think I need to remind you about Kei.” 

“Merle did that,” The Governor assured, watching as Rick shook his head and leaned in.

“No, _you know what I’m talking about_ ,”

Kei’s lips curled inwards as the Governor’s glance flicked over to her for a brief second. He looked back up at Rick and smirked, shaking his head lightly with a shrug of his shoulders.

“You know all about me, and I know all about you, I don’t care about any of that,” He mused, “We’re here to move forward.” 

He smiled brightly at the leader before looking over at Kei, watching as her nose crinkled and her lips pursed. She wanted to attack him, and he could see it. She just wanted to leap over the table and tear out his throat. She was feral, a wild animal just barely hanging on the edge of her leash. She proved that when she slaughtered two of his men who had tried to tie her up. He loved fighters, and he favored a challenge. Kei was a challenge, a challenge he was more than eager to overcome.

“Kei, go outside,” Rick instructed. His eyes were still on the Governor, and he could see as plain as day how he was looking at her. The girl didn’t argue. She merely turned away, walking past Andrea and giving her a look before heading out.

  
  


"Maybe I should go inside..." Hershel spoke out, turning around as the front door slid open and shut. Kei walked out without a word, Ren trotting up to her and stopping at her feet. Her big golden eyes looked up expectantly at her, as if waiting for her to give word to go back inside and protect the others. Kei simply patted her head and whistled for her to follow. She walked up next to Daryl and stood close as she carefully looked over at the two men leaning against a large beige truck. She had recognized Martinez in an instant, even without the navy blue baseball cap he sported during her capture. She however didn’t recognize the more mousy looking man who was scribbling way in a little book, wearing a clean plaid shirt and glasses.

"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately..." The meek man with glasses stated as he looked up from his note-taking. Daryl tilted his head and stared at the man,

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, his tone anything but friendly as the man looked over at him plainly,

"Milton Mamet," He answered simply. The man turned his attention back towards his notes and continued to write away. Daryl scoffed with a soft nod, looking off into the distance and slowly turning around,

"Great... he brought his butler." Kei couldn't help but break a soft smile and scoff, Martinez doing the same.

"I'm his advisor." Milton stated, clearly unfazed by Daryl's joke. Daryl turned back around to face him,

"What kind of advice?" 

Milton let out a slightly annoyed sigh and looked back at the hunter,

"Planning, biters—uh, you know I'm sorry, I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchman."

"You better watch your mouth, Sunshine," Daryl warned as he stepped closer to the smaller man.

"Look if you and I are gonna be out here pointin' guns at each other all day, do me a favor,” Martinez bit, “Shut your mouth.”

Kei stepped forward swiftly, but Daryl was two steps ahead of her. He got up close to Martinez, and the two began sizing each other up like a pair of dominant alphas. The two men stared each other down and brushed chests as Hershel stepped in.

“We don't need this!” The old farmer spoke out, “If all goes South in there we'll all be at each other's throats soon enough."

“Daryl,” Kei called, gently tugging on the end of his leather jacket. Daryl tore away from Martinez’s less than intimidating stare and looked over at Kei instead. Seeing her didn’t calm him down completely, but just enough to know that now wasn’t the time to fight. He let out a huff and stepped away, moving past her and retreating back to pacing in frustration. Kei turned around to walk back and keep him calm, but stopped when Martinez opened up his mouth.

“S’right Daryl, listen to the little princess there,”

“Wouldn’t call her that, if I were ya,” Daryl warned, his pacing stopped and his attention on Kei and her hardened expression.

“What, she gonna stab me in the head too? Right here?” Martinez scoffed.

“Just might if you keep mouthin’ off to her,” Daryl warned, watching as Kei closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose.

“Kei, just ignore him,” Hershel begged.

“Ren,” She spoke out, ignoring the old farmer’s plea, “ _Unari-goe_.”

A low growl erupted from the Red wolf’s throat as she crouched down and inched her way forward towards Martinez. Daryl tried his hardest not to smirk as the young Latino looked down at the wolf and instantly shot back. His eyes went wide as he backed away with every step the wolf took. Milton grabbed his notepad and backed away in the opposite direction, watching in fascination as the viscious dog snarled stalked her way towards Martinez. 

“Kei, call her off,” Hershel warned, stepping closer to the girl, “We don’t need this now. Daryl, make her call it off!”

“She’s the princess, she does what she wants,” Daryl huffed saracastically, watching as Kei kept her eyes locked on the wolf. The hunter stared at his girl in fascination. She was so focused, so intent on scaring the enemy, he wasn’t sure she would even listen to him. Hell, he wasn’t sure if she was even there with them right now. She was only focused on Ren, like she was living through her, watching her every move as she stalked closer to her prey. She was frustrated, he could tell. Frustrated that she couldn’t get to the governor, even after being so close. Hell, he was the same way. Seeing him through the window, so close to his girl after all that he did. He just wanted to lift his crossbow and end it right then and there.

“ _Yameru!_ ” She let out, ripping Daryl from his thoughts as the red wolf lunged forward. She landed only a couple feet short of where the man stood. She snapped her jaw once, and loudly as Martinez staggered backward and nearly fell over in shock. Ren’s growling instantly stopped, and she instead let out a huff through her nose. She retreated back to Kei’s side and looked up at the girl, earning an approving smirk from her. Hershel bit down hard and instructed for her to go back to the car and cool off. She did as she was told without a word, retreating back with Ren faithfully by her side. Milton took a few steps forward and readjusted his glasses, his blue eyes wide with awe.

“That was…amazing,” He gushed out, getting out his booklet and pencil, “Tha-That wolf there, she’s wild?”

Daryl turned his head and looked back, watching as his girl stalked back to the Hyundai.

“Yeah,” He answered gruffly, the corner of his mouth perking upwards in a smirk.

* * *

 

Andrea had come out of the mill with her head hung in defeat. The two men had kicked her out so that they could discuss terms by themselves, and the woman only prayed that one of them wouldn’t end up dead on the floor. She sat on a makeshift bench outside the entrance and rested her face into her palms. Meanwhile, Kei sat on the hood of the car with her arms folded and her legs crossed, watching as Milton continued to scribble down in his journal. He kept looking at Ren. Every time, he’d write a couple words, look at the wolf, and then write down more words again. This fascinated Kei. What on earth was there to write about at a time like this?

Her eyes flickered over to the right, seeing Daryl as he paced back and forth next to her and the car. Hershel must’ve noticed as well, his eyes locked on the hunter as went back and forth, back and forth over and over. The silence between them was as tense as it was awkward, and the only one seemingly brave enough to break it was Milton.  
  
"There's no reason we can't take this time together to discuss the issues ourselves,” He spoke out, finally stepped forward from the truck to try and clear the air. Daryl stopped pacing and kept close next to Kei, eyeing the man as he stepped closer to their group.

"Boss said to sit tight and shut up." Martinez said while looking back at the mousy scientist. Daryl glanced over his shoulder at Martinez,

"Don’t you mean _The Governor_?" He corrected bitterly.

"It's a good thing. They're sitting down; especially after what happened,” Milton assured, “They're gonna work it out, nobody wants another battle."

"Wouldn't exactly call that a _battle_ ," Daryl's raspy voice retorted as Milton stared back at him,

"I would call it a battle... and I did. I recorded it." The man held up his small pocket book and the three prison members looked at it curiously,

"For what?" Kei asked.

"Somebody's gotta keep a record of what we've gone through,” Milton assured simply, “It'll be a part of our history."

"That makes sense,” Hershel remarked. Milton looked over at the old farmer and his face seemed brighter. He felt as if he had connected to someone. He walked towards Hershel with his book out, his entire demeanor changing as he grew from wary to excited within seconds,

"I've got… _dozens_ of interviews and—"

The scientist’s voice was cut off as a loud snarl erupted from the maze of giant gins behind the beige truck. Kei perked up suddenly and Ren shot up straight, growling and crouching into attack mode. Kei pushed herself off the car and slid out her sword as Daryl and Martinez moved into action. Kei whistled sharply to the red wolf and she darted ahead towards the gins. Martinez grabbed a metal bat from the truck’s driver's seat while Andrea jumped to her feet and flicked out her knife. Kei jogged up next to Daryl and kept close while Andrea and Martinez followed suit.

Kei followed the sound of Ren’s barking as she leapt over rusted pipes and weaved around the tall silos. They each followed each other in tight formation as they crossed a small clearing, Daryl breaking form as they reached the end with his crossbow drawn. Up ahead, Ren had the pant leg of an old walker in it’s mouth, violently jerking around in attempts to get it to fall over. Once the creature landed on it’s back, Kei ran up and thrust her sword down into it’s skull. 

More hissing rang in the air. Kei looked ahead and saw three more Walkers staggering towards them. Daryl, Martinez, and Andrea rushed past her, confronting the three approaching creatures head on. She watched as Daryl lowered his crossbow and looked at Martinez, bowing his head and swinging his arm forward, "After you!"

"No way..." Martinez glared back at Daryl and pointed his aluminum bat at the Walkers, "You first."

Andrea sighed at the two men and shoved herself through them. She reached her forearm up and pinned a Walker against the metal gin with brute force, bringing her free hand up and stabbing it through the eye with her knife.  

" _Pussy_." She heard Martinez breathe while looking back at Daryl, moving from his side. Kei watched closely at the young Latino and how he maneuvered the bat in his fingers; flashy, yes, and cocky beyond all reason, but precise. She could tell that he had martial arts training under his belt. Martinez slammed the bat against a Walker’s head, its head smacking into the gin, with brains and skull matter splattering all over the rusted metal. The man turned and smirked back at Daryl, who rolled his shoulder and cocked his head challengingly. This wasn’t just about killing walkers anymore, and the two girls watching them knew hat. 

Daryl bolted past Martinez while drawing his crossbow, expertly pressing the trigger and releasing a bolt. The arrow hit dead between a Walker’s eyes, the creature flinging backwards and falling down with a thud. As Daryl went on to take the next one, Martinez twirled the bat skillfully in his hand, stopping the handle briefly and whacking a Walker against the head. A chunk of its head flew right off, and the Walker's body fell to straight the ground.

Andrea sighed at them and shook her head, turning around to walk back towards the feeding mill. Kei and Ren stood there and watched as Daryl and Martinez went back and forth on their little pissing match. She couldn’t even tell who was winning at this point. 

The two men moved around a set of metal pipes and scaffolding. Just as Martinez was about to take out another Walker, Daryl stepped right in and fired an arrow to its head. The bolt flew straight through and lodged into the neck of another Walker that happened to be close behind it. Martinez smirked and kept that one in his sights. Kei’s eyes went straight to Daryl as he swiped his hunting knife hastily from the sheath on his belt. He carefully took the blade in his hand, reached his arm back, and sent the thing flying. Just as Martinez went to take a swing at the Walker in front of him, a knife flew straight into its skull and dug in deep. The creature flung back from the impact and toppled over, landing in the dirt with a loud thud. Kei’s eyes widened with a small “Holy shit” coming out of her mouth. She had never seen Daryl pull a move like that. That was just amazing!

Martinez stood there for a moment and looked down at his stolen kill. He then turned around and looked back at Daryl, the two of them eyeing each other and slightly nodding out of a newfound (and possibly temporary) respect.

 

"Look what he's got,” Daryl spoke, pulling out a small pack of Marlboro lights from the breast pocket of Martinez’s stolen kill. Martinez looked down at them curiously as Daryl stood to his feet, plucking one of the cigarettes from the box and placing the filter in between his lips. He turned around and held the box out towards Martinez, the shorter man shaking his head as he leaned back on the pole,

"Nah... I prefer menthols," Martinez looked up at the sky and listened as Daryl scoffed, the hunter tucking the small box in the back pocket of his pants.

"Douchebag," He exchanged the box of cigarettes for his zippo lighter and snapped open the top. Using his thumb to flick the flame on, he brought the end of the cigarette to the fire and began sucking in a breath. He watched as the tip burned bright red, and the familiar taste of smoke and nicotine filled his mouth. He took a slow drag and pulled the cig from his mouth, letting out a smoky sigh as he looked back at Martinez. He eyed the man up and down, suddenly remembering the way he fought, and the wild look in his eyes as he killed the Walkers.

"You army or somethin'?" Daryl asked, pulling the cigarette from his mouth after taking another hit. He exhaled slowly, the smoke clouding his view of the man as he tapped the bat against the ground and looked down,

"Nah... Just hate these things." He answered slowly, pointing his bat down at the dead Walker before him, "After what they did. You know... wife... kids." Daryl’s stormy blue eyes looked down grimly as he thought about his own family, and what those things did to his own Dad and Uncle.

"Sucks..." He rasped, bringing the cigarette back to his lips and taking another hit. Martinez nodded to himself and looked down,

"Thanks..." He muttered, his eyes glued to the dirt at his feet. The two men stood in silence, Daryl gently puffing on a cigarette while the two of them looked out towards the building where Rick and The Governor were. Martinez looked back at Daryl, his dark eyes scanning the hunter up and down.

"You know this is a joke, right?" Daryl looked over at him, taking the cigarette from his mouth. "They ain't gonna work anything out. Sure, they'll do their little dance, but tomorrow... the next day... they'll give the word."

The two of them eyed each other, not out of hatred, not out of mistrust, but out of a mutual undersanding. This was mostly for show. These two men couldn’t live next door in peace. Both men wanted the other dead, and it was going to happen, one way or another. Daryl looked down momentarily before looking back up at the man, nodding his head at the solemn fact.

"I know,”   
  
Martinez gently nodded his head and pointed his bat over to Daryl’s back pocket. The hunter pulled out the pack of cigarettes and handed it over, watching as Martinez set the bat down and placed one cig in his mouth. Daryl held out his lighter and flicked it on for him, watching as the guy leaned in and pressed the end to the flame. He took a long drag and exhaled slowly into the air, leaning back against the telephone pole.

“That girl, the one with the wolf,” He spoke out, earning Daryl’s attention as he pulled the cig from his mouth, “She escaped from Woodbury, right?”

His dark eyes flicked over to Daryl’s and watched as the hunter let out a smoky sigh. His eyes fell to the dirt as he nodded, letting out a small “Hm.” 

“She’s fuckin’ wack, man,” Martinez scoffed, looking down at the dirt as he put the cigarette to his lips, “Killed two of our own with her bare hands.” 

“She’s a fighter,” Daryl remarked, taking another hit and inhaling slowly. He let out a slow breath, a small cloud of smoke covering Martinez’s face as he smiled and scoffed.

“She’s an animal is what,” He heard him say, “Probably spends too much time with that dog of hers. I’m havin’ a hard time just telling the two apart.”

Daryl thought about the look on her face when she called for Ren to scare the guy. Her eyes wild and her expression viscious. She was very wolf-like, always watching, calculating, and defending whenever threatened. She was always so calm around him and the others, but when she was around the enemy, she was on high alert; ready to pounce at any given moment. 

“She cares though, about you and that old guy...Andrea too,” He heard Martinez sigh, exhaling smoke into the afternoon air. A smile appeared on his face as he let out a scoff through his nose, “God, the way she looks at us, like she wants to rip us apart with her teeth.”

* * *

“Interesting,” Milton chirped, scribbling away in his journal as he looked over Ren for the umpteenth time, “So she obeys your every command? She doesn’t run away when there’s danger?” 

Kei saw movement from the corner of her eye and looked over towards the Feeding Mill doors. Andrea was sitting there, head in hands, and stress all over her expression. She was talking to Hershel, and Kei couldn’t help notice that they were looking in her direction an awful lot.

“She’s loyal,” Kei answered, looking back down at her Red Wolf from the hood of the Hyundai. She swung her lanky legs up and down in boredom, secretly wishing this meeting was over so that she could get away from the geeky man in the dirt. Milton was on his knees, observing Ren’s features closely and taking notes. 

“Has she ever bit a walker before? Like, really sunk her teeth in and gotten blood on her?” 

“She did when we first started traveling, but she didn’t turn,” She answered thoughtfully, “Neither did Ame. I have no idea why.”

“Ame,” The spectacled man muttered, writing it down in his notes, “And that’s your…other wolf, correct? Male? Gray fur?”

The dark haired girl nodded, her eyes flicking over to the two figures emerging from the maze of silos that she and Andrea had left. She pushed herself off the hood and rushed forward, making her way towards the lanky hunter and The Governor’s top soldier. 

“Are you okay?” She asked out, rushing up to Daryl as he and Martinez stalked back towards the cars. She gently gripped his coat sleeve and looked him over once before glaring over at Martinez. Daryl could’ve sworn he heard a small growl coming from her throat.

“M’fine,” He assured, looking down at her with furrowed eyebrows. She had leaned into his leather jacket and began sniffing lightly, looking up at him with eyes no longer cold and menacing, but bright and innocent.

“Cigarettes?” She asked, her tone slightly hopeful and surprisingly sweet. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small pack, taking one out and tucking it behind her ear. 

“For later,” He instructed, watching as she nodded with a faint smile. 

Suddenly, the door to the feeding mill slid open with a loud squeal. The Governor stepped out first, making a slow and steady beeline for the truck without saying a word to any of them. Ren stepped away from Milton and growled at Woodbury’s leader, baring her teeth at him as he neared the driver’s side to his truck. Kei stepped over to the wolf and watched closely, seeing the man’s unpatched eye flick over in her direction. The same half-cocked grin stretched across his whiskery cheeks. Her coal black eyes locked onto his, her lips pursing and nose crinkling in the process. His expression said all that it needed to say; hers and Daryl’s doing the same:

“ _See you soon.”_

* * *

When they got back to the prison, Rick called for everyone to meet in the center of their cellblock. Sen and Kei sat on the steps while everyone else stood around with their weapons at hand. They all exchanged glances with each other, a number of questions etched on their expressions as Rick moved towards the amory cell. He pulled out one of the sniper rifles and walked back over towards the steps, standing beside Kei as he looked to each member of his group.

"So I met this ‘Governor’…” He announced, pausing briefly as thought on his next words, "Sat with him for quite a while…"

"Just the two of ya?" Merle asked out. Rick nodded, still looking ahead as the older Dixon pushed through the group and walked back towards the exit, "Should've got 'em when we had the chance, bro," He muttered over to Glenn. 

Kei followed Daryl’s brother with her eyes as he stopped next to Carl, turning around to hear what Rick had to say next.

"He wants the prison. He wants us gone,” He continued, “…Dead. He wants us dead…For what we did to Woodbury." 

There was another long pause, the tension swelled around them and everyone looked at each other, fully knowing what Rick was going to say next. The leader swallowed once and looked to each of them dead in the eye.

" _We're goin' to war_.”

Kei turned and looked over at Sen, the boy’s eyes looking straight ahead and past everyone else. Rick quietly stalked away with the rifle in his hand, leaving everyone else to look at each other wordlessly and take all of it in. Everyone slowly went back to functioning again, exchanging brief glances and grim smiles as they passed each other. Glenn and Maggie went back to being on watch while Carol and Beth went back upstairs to take care of Judith. Sen gently patted Kei’s knee and pushed himself up off the steps, walking forward to help Merle, Carl and Michonne with the weapons. That left Daryl and Kei alone in the middle of the cell block, looking at each other with firm stares. She slowly got up off the steps and walked right up to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and hugging him tight.

 

"The groups taking it as well as can be expected," Hershel announced, looking down at the field through the chainlink fencing, "Merle and Michonne are convinced we should hit first. Carol and I think we should take our chances on the road."

He turned his head, staring over at Rick, watching the man’s tired eyes as they jutted around before looking to the ground.

"We're in this together. So if we stay and fight, so be it," He spoke, noticing Rick’s grip growing tighter against the chainlink. 

"He gave me a choice...a way out," He announced, turning his head to look back at the old man. 

"What does he want?" 

Rick’s eyes fell to the floor again. 

"...Kei....and Michonne," He muttered. Hershel’s eyes didn’t falter as he stared over at Rick’s torn expression.

"He'll kill them…" 

"…And then kill us anyway," The leader reasoned, turning to look back out at the courtyard, "I said no about Kei the minute he offered, but he still wants Michonne..." 

Hershel nodded lightly and turned his head, watching as a slew of walkers wandered along the courtyard fences.

"What if he doesn’t kill us? If we give her over..." he heard the man ask beside him. The old farmer turned his head around and shot Rick a look of surprise. The leader only looked at him with dead seriousness on his face,

"What if this is the answer?"

"Why didn't you tell them?" Hershel asked, watching Rick closely as he took in a shaky breath.

"…They need to be scared," He answered.

"…They are," Hershel assured.

"Good," Rick spoke, "Cause that's the only way they'll accept it," 

"They saved our lives, time and again," The old farmer reasoned, "If Michonne hadn't have come here, we wouldn't have known Glenn and them had been taken. She's earned her place. Kei had earned hers ages ago." 

"Yeah...Yeah they have…" Rick trailed off, looking down at the corpses wandering in the courtyard, "…Are you willin' to sacrifice your daughters’ lives for her? A complete stranger?" 

There was a breif pause. Hershel’s eyes stared over at his conflicted leader, before looking back out at the courtyard.

"Why you tellin' me?"

"Because…” Rick answered as he turned to face him, “Because I'm hopin' you can talk me out of it.” 

  
  


“Ya know he wants ya,” She heard Daryl’s gruff voice say. [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=76814044&lid=1950767) turned her head to face him, watching him through the dim light of dusk that stretched over the prison. She twisted her lips to the side, sucking on the filter of her cigarette as she exhaled smoke through her nose. She looked back out at the courtyard and nodded.

“I figured as much,” She sighed, “If anything Merle and I are meant to be bargaining chips…Michonne too. She did take out his eye.” 

“Well he ain’t havin’ any of ya, end of story,” The hunter asserted. He watched as Kei’s head fell back and she let out a sigh.

“Daryl,”

“No, I ain’t lettin’ him touch ya again,” He assured, “Not unless he wants’ta lose his goddamn hands. Only I get to touch ya.” 

“Okay,” She chuckled, flicking the butt of her cigarette away before standing up. She turned around and leaned into Daryl’s frame, wrapping her arms around his waist. He gently kissed the side of her head, burying his nose into her hair and inhaling her familiar scent.

“Tell me,” He muttered to her.

“Only you get to touch me,” She repeated, smiling up at him as he leaned down and pressed his lips on her forehead.

“Damn right,” He muttered into her skin, “Yer my girl…”

Kei’s eyes fluttered shut, a warm smile on her face. His girl. 

“No one does that to my girl and gets away with it,” She heard him say. She tilted her head up and gently pressed her lips on his, smiling as he gently gripped the back of her neck with one hand. His fingers inched their way up her scalp and tangling themselves in her hair. A marvelous tingling sensation ran from her skull through her spine, causing her mouth to part and a moan to escape her lips. 

“Inside,” He rasped, his lips still attached to hers.

“What?” She asked, attempting to pull her head back a little to look at him. She managed to break away for a second before Daryl leaned in and captured her lips once more. 

“In!” He repeated, pulling her along as he guided her back inside the guard tower.

The two of them fumbled through dimmed lighting inside the guard tower, kissing and laughing lightly as they bumped into each other. They made it to the center of the room and began shedding their weapons and jackets. The minute Daryl’s coat hit the floor, Kei took him into her arms and pressed her lips against his. The hunter stumbled back a little, holding her by the hips as she placed small kisses on his cheeks that traveled up to his forehead. She held his head gently in her hands, running her fingers through his long dark hair with a smile on her face. She planted one more kiss on his forehead before planting one on his lips. 

She covered her mouth with his, her tongue slipping past his lips and relishing in his taste. The familiar feel of her lips on his made a moan rumble in his throat. He held her tight, his hands running up and down her sides before gripping her ass. She broke away with a laugh, the hunter keeping his hold on her and pressing his lips to her exposed neck. His kissed his way to her ear, tracing the curve of it with his tongue before gently sucking the lobe. Her giggle quickly melted a moan and she arched her back, pressing her hips against him. Her bottom lip curled between her teeth, taking in the feel of Daryl’s rough hands roaming every inch of skin they could find. 

Heat flooded through her as his hands rubbed her bare sides, his mouth gently nipping and kissing the skin on her neck. She felt her shirt begin to shift and slide, Daryl pulling it up and over her, tossing it carelessly to the side. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed as his hands ran down her back, stopping at the clasp of her lacy black bra. His lips reconnected with her neck as he undid the first clasp, but it was cut short when Kei gripped his hands and gently pushed them away. She stepped back a little and grabbed the hem of his shirt. 

“Off,” She huffed, tugging at the ends of his flannel. 

The two of them hurriedly got him out of his shirt, Kei’s hands then going for his belt and undoing it while her lips worked against his own. She gently sucked and nibbled on his lower lip, gently taking it between her teeth and tugging on it. Once she undid the zipper on his jeans, Daryl hastily slid them down and stepped out of them. Kei's hands went to latching themselves onto his thick shoulders, her head falling back as Daryl’s rough hands pressed her hips against his. She let out an audible moan as he ground his hips against hers, the friction between their underwear combined with the growing bulge in Daryl’s pants making her wetter by the second.

Everything about her was driving him crazy; the the sounds of her moans, the scent and warmth of her skin, the way her lips parted and her eyes fluttered shut, how her hips thrusted againt him in need. She was intoxicating to him. Ducking his head down he started nipping and kissing her collarbone, his tongue licking and laving over her skin. His lips and tongue traveled down her sternum, following the constant rise and fall of her stomach as she panted and whimpered. Once his knees hit the floor he looked up briefly, a faint smirk on his lips as he reached for the button on her jeans. With his eyes locked on hers he skillfully undid the button and slid down the zipper, revealing the lacey black fabric of her underwear. 

“My wild girl,” He mused with a smirk, “Wearin’ my favorite for me.”

He planted a kiss on her hip, letting out a breathy sigh as her hands buried themselves in his hair. Her fingers inched along his scalp, toying with the roots as he tugged at the waistband of her jeans. She wriggled her hips as he slid them down her ankles, his lips leaving a hot trail of kisses down her slender legs. She stepped out of the pool of fabric and leaned over, gently tugging at Daryl to make him stand back up. 

“Come here,” She panted, “Come here.” 

Daryl stood back up and pressed his body up against hers, his fingers slipping behind her back and unclasping her bra. She kept her eyes on his, biting her lip as he slid the fabric off and let it drop right beside them. He leaned in and covered her mouth with his, closing his eyes as he slid his tongue between her lips. 

He let out a groan as her hand slid down his stomach and got between them, snaking its way past the waistband of his boxers. Her eyes stayed locked on his as she wrapped her fingers around him, watching as his jaw dropped and his breath leave him in a sharp hiss. He let out a small “ _ungh_ ” and bucked his hips helplessly against her palm as she squeezed and stroked him. She unconsciously ground against his thigh while she was at it, pleasure building in her lower stomach and between her legs. Her lips parted similar to Daryl's, their breathing coming in shallow, rapid pants. Daryl leaned in close and pressed his forehead to hers, his nose gently brushing the side of her own. A playful smile crept on the girl's lips as she leaned back and kissed the tip of his nose.

“Like that?” She purred, smiling into his lips as he sudennly captured her mouth with his. The hunter groaned out a slow “mhhmmm” before he broke away to let out a swear, his breathing becoming labored as Kei's hand worked it's way to the tip, her thumb gently circling the head. 

“ _Shit_ ,” He panted, “Wait, stop a minute.” 

She furrowed a little when he pulled her hand away, but smiled and stifled a giggle when he stepped back and hurried out of his boxers. He tossed them aside somewhere and stepped forward without missing a beat, pressing his mouth down on hers in a rough kiss.

She let out a playful yelp as a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her and held her tight as he brought her down to the floor with him. Their jackets acted as a makeshift pillow as Daryl gently set her down and hovered over her, his hips pressed down against hers. 

He traced the band of her panties with one rough finger before slipping his hand under the material. He drew small circles first on one hip bone and then the other, making her eyes flutter shut at the sensation. Her bottom lip curled between her teeth as she felt his fingers slide further down, just stopping short of where she wanted to be touched. 

"Daryl,” She whined, pouting at the faint little smirk on his face. 

“Hm?” He mumbled, fingers tracing over her soft curls. His fingers

“ _Daryl_ ,” She panted, wiggling her hips a little to indicate what she wanted. Daryl’s eyes fell from her face to her lacy boy shorts.

“Love ya like this,” He whispered admittedly, fingers dipping down to slide against her slick folds. “All wet, just for me...”

Her eyes instantly shut as she let out a small “ _oh_ ,” a finger brushing against her clit, making pleasure shoot up her spine. Her lips parted and her chest rose high as she gasped, groaning as Daryl slipped a finger inside her. For a moment she forgot to exhale, holding her breath and then releasing it in a rush. She groaned as he probed shallowly at her entrance to spread some of her wetness upward, sliding up and circling around her clit. She let out an audible whimper, one that made even Daryl make a noise as well. God, she was so sexy to him.

"Look at me," He commanded in a single breath. He pulled back slightly to watch her, seeing her dark eyes wide open and completely focused on him. Her small chest rose and fell heavily, her eyebrows knitted as his two fingers continued to rub and slide against her folds. The look she gave him made him let out a light groan and he caught her mouth with his, forcing his tongue past her teeth. He broke away and gently nipped at her jaw, twisting his fingers inside her and making her hips suddenly buck off the floor. Her jaw immediately dropped and she let out a yelp, her hand instantly covering her mouth. Daryl instantly froze and they looked at each other with wide eyes. Kei started to shake under him, laughing into the palm of her hand. Daryl on the other hand still had a wide-eyed look on his face,

"You okay?!" Kei let her hand fall to her side and gave him a firm nod, still shaking as she giggled. She heard Daryl let out a huff of releif before leaning forward to kiss her on the forehead.

"Jesus," He said with ain airy laugh, "Thought I hurt ya."

"No, no, no, oh my god," She assured, reaching up to wrap her arms around him, "It just felt really good." 

"Yeah?" 

"Mhm," She mumbled, her head falling back again as Daryl gently brushed her clit with his thumb. Slowly he started up again, Kei's hips meeting his every thrust before her breathing grew frantic. She held him close and panted for him to go harder, his moving becoming rough and frantic. Her mouth fell as the pleasure built up inside her, her heart racing and her mind drawing a complete blank. Daryl pressed his lips to her ear and whispered to her how good she felt, how it drove him crazy seeing her like this, and how he wanted to see her cum for him.

She inhaled sharply as her eyes screwed shut, her body locking around his fingers as Daryl continued to move them in an out of her in frantic movements. It wasn't long before she froze up and let out a sharp gasp, her body trembling and clenching around his fingers. Her hips began bucking widly and Daryl held her close as she let out a swear, her face burying itself into his thick shoulder. She let out a drawn out squeal in her throat before her head fell back and she let out a much needed breath.

"Holy shit," She panted heavily, putting a hand to her forehead as she laughed, "Holy fucking shit...oh my god..."

Daryl carefully slid his fingers out of her, watching closely as her body visibly shook and shivered. He watched as her chest rose and fell, a warm sated smile on her face as she spraweled out under him like a cat. The sight just made him want her even more. 

"Yer fuckin' gorgeous," He let out, suddenly surprised himself that he let that slip. The smile on Kei's lips grew, and she held up one hand to him, curling her index finger repeatedly.

"Come here," 

He leaned down and smiled as she arched her back under him, his throat vibrating as she sucked and nipped at his collarbone. She broke away and lifted her hips as one hand slid down into her underwear and past the curve off her ass. He grabbed a handful and kneaded it, making her squeak and laugh as he pushed her panties down to her thighs. He stood up to his knees and slid the fabric off her slender legs, tossing them aside. His heated blue eyes wandered over her for a minute; from her full lips and flushed cheeks, to her dark hooded eyes and creamy skin that looked so soft and devourable.

He leaned back down and rested himself between her legs, slipping one hand between them to grip his cock. He gently rubbed himself against her a few times, earning a small moan and a mischievous smile from the girl under him. She parted her legs a little more for him and he slowly slid himself into her, moaning at how slick she really was from her previous orgasm.

He wrapped his arms around her head, cradling her as he rocked his hips against hers. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes and moaning when he placed light, fluttering kisses on her exposed throat. Her finger nails ran down his back, lightly scratching over the scars, sending tingling sensations down the hunter’s spine. He let out an audible “ _ungh_ ,” as her hands went from his back to his hair, gripping it as she let out a gasp of pleasure.

“Shit,” She breathed, her eyes shutting instantly as he thrusted into her, “Oh my god.” 

“Like that, babe?” He panted, groaning as she bucked her hips up against his. She whimpered in response, opening her mouth as Daryl leaned in and captured her lips. Her hands made their way into his hair, gently tugging and toying with the roots as Daryl nipped and sucked on her bottom lip. She broke away for a moment and turned her head, his lips sliding their way to her neck, sucking and marking the flesh. Their steady pace quickly become erratic as Kei’s back arched and her legs clenched around Daryl’s waist.

“Daryl…I’m gonna–” 

“Open your eyes,” He panted, leaning in and peppering her cheeks and lips with kisses, “Kei, look at me.” 

She snapped open her eyes and looked up at him, watching him as he continued to move above her. There was something new this time, something in his eyes letting her know that this wasn’t just sex, or some ploy to mark her as his and his alone.

He was making love to her.

He was saying he loved her, and that made her his. 

“Oh my god,” She breathed, her eyes rolling shut, “Daryl I—”

“Come on sweetheart,” He whispered in the shell of her ear, “Cum. Cum just for me.”

Her bottom lip curled in between her teeth, her breathing coming in short erratic pants. She was so close, the feeling inside her twisting and bunching up like a coil. She gripped Daryl’s shoulders tight as their hips slid against one another, and with one final thrust the coil finally sprung forward and gave her sweet release. Daryl watched her as her head fell back and her lips parted, loving the small noises she made as her back arched and her muscles tensed and shook. Her core tightened around him, making his jaw drop and body freeze as his own orgasm shot through him. He moaned her name under his breath as he came, shutting his eyes and collapsing against her soft body.

They stayed like that for a minute or so. Each time Daryl moved, he felt Kei twitch and shudder under him, still sensitive with the aftershocks of her orgasm. He looked down at her and watched as she latched onto his shoulders with eyes closed, holding him there to keep him from moving.

"No no no, don't move," She breathed, letting out a shaky sigh, "Don't move..." 

Daryl nodded lightly and leaned down, planting little kisses on her lips and jawline. After a little time Daryl was finally able to move and she finally opened her eyes, blinking away all the little stars at the corners of her vision. She smiled up at her hunter and leaned up a bit, planting a small kiss on his lips before he slumped down and rested into her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and held him with a sated sigh. One hand ran down his back, tracing the scars with her fingertips while the other hand ran through his moist hair. She could feel his heart pattering against hers, his breathing slowly returning to normal. She felt him shift and his lips gently pressed against the side of her head,

“...I love ya,” He muttered. 

Kei’s eyes fluttered shut, her mouth forming a small smile as she held him tight. She turned and peppered his lips and cheeks with kisses, whispering just how much she loved him right back.

 


	35. This Sorrowful Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I'm fine,” He muttered, more to himself rather than the guy next to him. Sen stood back a little and stared firmly at his leader for a moment, shaking his head.
> 
> “You're full of shit,”

[ _She_ ](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=86265497) _stared at the house for what seemed like ages. It still looked the same, if not more pristine. It was hard to believe it could, especially after that fire damaged mess she left behind eight years ago. She let out a sigh, her jet black eyes staring through the menthol fog that emerged from her nose and cigarette. Her skirt billowed against the summer wind that blew from behind her. She watched, and listened through the rattling leaves and the hissing of cicadas to the sounds of thumping. Thump. Thump. Thump. Over and over again. It was light and muffled, but within rhythm._

_She stepped out onto the yard, gripping the straps of both her messenger bag and her rifle as she treaded across the grass. She nibbled on the filter of her cigarette as she stepped up onto the porch. She looked down with raised eyebrows. New cherry-wood flooring, with a red oak swing set over in the corner. How nice._

_She took one final hit before she flicked her cigarette to the ground, smothering it under her ankle boot. She let out a smoky exhale and stepped up to the front door, looking to her right at the small potted plant on the ground. She lifted it up with a smile, picking up the key that laid hidden underneath. The old man just couldn’t break his old habits. She pressed the key into the lock and twisted it, carefully unlocking the door and stepping inside._

_The door shut quietly behind her. She took a minute to look around at her old home. There was new furniture, new carpeting, and new floors. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath through her nose. That fresh paint smell was still strong in the air, mixed in with the scent of fresh plywood. She opened her eyes again. The place may have had different look, but the memories were still there. They still echoed in the walls she clawed at, the floors she was dragged across, and the little spaces she often hid in. A mere paint job didn’t change any of that._

_She stepped through the hall and made her way into the kitchen. She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the island counter, casually biting into it as she made her way to the stairs._

_She heard thumping again. Thump. Thump. Thump. It was coming from upstairs. Incessant thumping. She could hear voices. Muffled, harsh grunts and gasps. Her grip around the apple grew tight. He was with someone._

_She made her way up the steps, listening to the wood creaking under her as she made her way to the top. The thumping sound continued as she made her way down the hall. She stopped in the first room on her right. Her “brother’s” old room. The door was half open already. It didn’t reveal the source of the thumping, but it did reveal a set of legs hidden under a cloth blanket. She smiled lightly and leaned into the doorway, looking down at the floor. Medical tubes were everywhere, all across the carpet, all leading up to one little machine with a bunch of numbers and lines on the screen. It beeped lightly, in tandem with the thumping noise that was still going on. Her eyes traveled over to the bed, and the body that was sleeping in it._

_He was 24 now. He had gotten taller, his feet almost touching the end of his bed. His skin was all gnarled and pink with intense scarring. He was a giant scar, the result of when fire consumed flesh. He had no hair, and she could just barely make out the features of his face. He still had his eyes though, and his eyes shifted, looking over at the slender girl in the doorway._

_She watched him for a minute. She watched as it slowly processed in his head. When it finally clicked, she smiled. He shifted and shook in his bed, rasping and huffing through the oxygen mask on his mouth. Poor boy couldn’t talk, couldn’t let out as much as a scream. Perfect._

_She put a finger to her lips, letting out a soft “shhhh”. An innocent smile formed on her lips for him before she stepped past his room and disappeared from his sight. She continued on towards the thumping noise. It was coming from the room at the very end of the hall. His room._

_She stepped up to the door and paused, her fingers wrapped around the doorknob. This was it, the room where all her horrors started. They were still there, all those wretched memories. They still hid under the beds and hung in the closets._

_She could hear the bed squeaking, huffing and heavy panting coming from the other side. She could hear_ his _voice, grunting out demands for the poor creature that was under him._

_She twisted the knob a little with ease. Unlocked. She twisted it further and slowly opened the door, revealing a scene she fully expected to see: A young blonde girl looking away in shame as the power hungry animal furiously rutted against her. He was so desperate to get off that he didn’t even notice the bedroom door open up. Nor did he notice his worst nightmare standing behind it._

_His eyes remained focused on the only part that mattered, watching his pride and joy enter in and out of her._

_The young girl turned her head and watched, watched with desperate eyes as Kei mouthed for her to shush. Her Innocent, shame filled eyes of dull blue grew wide; watching as the girl stepped back into the darkened hall. Her footsteps barely made a sound._  
  
“Get up!” The man above her growled. His large hands pulled her up to her knees and shifted her to where he wanted. He made her face the opened door as he continued his assault on her, not even bothering to look up and see that something was terribly wrong.

_It was only when he heard a weapon cock that he looked up. A beautiful Asian pixie with shoulder length hair stood in the dimly lit hall. Her head tilted to the side as she raised her rifle, closing one eye and putting the other to the scope. She watched with a smile as his sweaty face went white as a sheet. He caught on quick._

“ _K-K…”_

“ _Sh!” She whispered, staring at his sickened look with a soft smile, “This might hurt.”_

_She pulled the trigger and held the rifle tight as it kicked back a little. The sound of a gunshot cracked in the air, bone fragments, brains, and blood splattered all over the window._

_And then there was silence._

_Kei lowered her rifle slowly, watching as her father’s body toppled over and fell back into the pillows. The young girl in front stood up to her knees, her skinny arms folded over her chest. Her wavy blonde locks cascaded over her bony shoulders and covered part of her bruised face. One dull blue eye stared over at Kei’s coal blacks. Neither of them said a word. The only stared at each other, listening to the howl of wind coming through the bullet hole in the window._

 

The girl stirred in her sleep, shivering at the feel of a hand gently running along her thigh. She felt a pair of lips gently touch her shoulder blade, fluttering their way up her neck to the shell of her ear. The sensation tickled her, making her giggle and curl up as the arms around her held her tight. She turned her head, her eyes fluttering shut as Daryl leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Morning,” She sighed.

“Mornin’,” He mumbled, his voice husky with sleep as he kissed the side of her head, “I gotta get up.”

“No,” She groaned, turning her body over to face his. She placed her free arm over his torso, holding him close as she pecked his lips, “Stay.”

“I gotta,” He muttered between kisses, “Rick needs help.”

She let out a small whimper in her throat, Daryl kissing the small pout on her lips.

“You gotta get up too, girl” He remarked, “We’re preppin’ the place today for when the Governor comes back.”

He watched as her nose wrinkled and her lips twisted to the side. He gave her a faint smile, letting out a scoff as he shook his head.

“Little brat,” he teased, leaning in and placing a final kiss on her lips. He carefully sat up at the edge of her bed, gathering his clothes up off the floor. Kei watched from the bed as he stood up to put his clothes on. Her eyes wandered, watching as the muscles in his back shifted behind the scarred skin. Her gaze fell over to the tattoo on his right shoulder blade; two demons clamoring their way up his back, placed pretty much in the same spot her dragon tattoo was. She smiled fondly; demons and dragons, a perfect match.

After getting dressed and leaving a small goodbye kiss on Kei’s forehead, Daryl left her cell to go talk with Rick. After a few minutes, Kei finally rolled herself out of bed and got [dressed](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=81874459) before grabbing her weapons and heading outside.

She stepped into the security wing where breakfast was waiting for her. [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=89244825&lid=1950767) was on top of the table, sitting cross-legged with a bowl of corn and tuna in his lap. Carol was sitting at the next table over, Judith resting peacefully on top in her little portable crib. The woman looked up from the baby and smiled over at the girl.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” She chirped. Kei smiled back, sitting down at Sen’s table as he handed her some breakfast.

“Morning,” She replied, looking over at the little tote, “How’s Judith?”

Carol looked down at her, her smile light and soft in fondness.

“Doing alright. She’s about as hungry as a horse,” She answered, “Eats like one too.”

The girl let out a scoff, looking over at the little bundle all wrapped up in blankets and stuffed animals. She really was a cute baby. She was going to be so pretty, just like Lori.

“You two mind watchin her for a tiny bit?” Carol asked, her voice ripping Kei from her thoughts, “I’m just gonna get her a change of clothes.”

The two adults nodded, watching as Carol got up and went back into the cell block. Just as one cell door shut, another one swung open.

“Top o’ the mornin, lovebirds!” A familiar voice hollered. Kei’s muscles immediately tensed up, her dark eyes flicking over to the tall, one-handed man on the balcony. Merle made his way down the steps, his walk as smug as the look on his face. He approached the two at the table, bending over and leaning on it with his elbows.

“Hope y'all are ready for the big party,” He said with a chuckle, “Y'all get a good sleep? I sure did.”

Sen simply shrugged while Kei looked away, keeping her eyes glued to her bowl as she ate.

“Had a hard time at first though,” Merle remarked, tossing his finger over in Kei’s direction, “Could hear Wild Child over here going at it with my little brother last night.”

Kei dropped her spoon into her bowl. Sen’s eyebrows raised and his mouth dropped a little. Merle simply shrugged and smirked, completely overlooking their reactions.

“All that moanin’ n' groanin’ you two was doin’ last night when you came back from watch,” He went on to say, “Shoot, I could hear ya from all the way over here. Didn’t think Daryl had it in him to stick it into a girl. Thought he woulda creamed his pants just by touchin’ one.”

“Uh, Merle,” Sen warned slowly, earning the man’s attention. The young Asian pointed over at Kei with his eyes, warning him to shut up before he had hell to pay. Merle looked over at the girl, the warning look in her dark eyes saying it all. The corner of his mouth quirked upwards before he turned and looked over at the small tote with writing on it.

“Lil Ass Kicker, huh?” He scoffed, knowing full well that Daryl had a part in the name, “How is the little sun spot?”

Kei watched him shift. He started walking over to the other table, nearing the baby.

“I wouldn’t go over there,” She warned.

“Come on now, girl, you can grace me with at least _a minute_ to look at ‘er,” Merle assured.

“She’s right man, don’t go near that baby,” Sen cautioned.

The man wasn’t even two feet away when a menacing snarl came from behind the table. Merle tilted his head and looked underneath, large piercing eyes staring back at him. Ren stood up from her seat on the floor and snarled at the man, baring her fangs as she inched closer to him. Her back arched, her tail curled between her legs, and her eyes were dead set on his throat. She looked about ready to kill, and that made Merle hold up his hands and back away. He knew better than cross a wolf, let alone a motherly one.

“Easy there, Sparky,” He soothed, “Easy…didn’t mean to cross yer lil pup there.”

Ren snapped at him, growling in her throat for him to get away. Merle happily obliged and slid back over to the other table, scoffing at the animal as it huddled near Judith’s crib and eyed him visciously.

“Told you,” Kei remarked, scooping up a mouthful of corn and putting it in her mouth. 

* * *

 

“It’s the only way,” Rick assured, his steely blues looking into Daryl’s, “No one else knows…”

“You gonna tell ‘em?” Daryl asked, watching as his leader shook his head.

“Not til after,” He answered, turning his head to look out at the fence lined with walkers, “We have to do it today…It has to be quiet.”

The hunter nodded, his jaw bobbing lightly as he shifted and paced a little in place. His eyes fell to the pavement before looking back up at Rick.

“You got a plan?”

“We tell her we need to talk,” Rick answered as he walked up to the hunter, “Away from the others…”

Daryl’s eyes flicked over to Hershel. The old man gave him a knowing look and dipped his head low, showing his disproval without saying a word. Daryl’s eyes flicked back over to Rick’s. He shook his head, shrugging,

“Just ain’t us, man,”

“No, no it isn’t,” Hershel voiced, pushing himself off with his crutches. The two men watched as the old man hobbled away towards the cell block. Rick went back to looking at Daryl and the hesitant look in his eyes. He leaned in,

“If we do this, we avoid a fight,” He asserted, “ _No one else dies._ ”

Kei and Judith instantly came to mind. If he did this, neither of them would have to die. If he did this, the rest of his group would be safe.

But for how long?

He nodded his head, still pacing hesitantly as he looked into Rick’s eyes.

“Kay,” He agreed, watching as Rick swayed a little in hesitation.

"...We need someone else."

Daryl knew what he wanted and looked to the ground, nodding his head.

"I'll talk to him,” He offered, but Rick was quick to shoot him down,

"I'll do it,"

Daryl stepped forward,

"I'll go with ya—"

"No," Rick retorted with a nod of his head, "Just me."

He turned around and stalked back towards the cellblock. Daryl lagged behind, taking a couple slow steps after him. He gripped on the strap of his crossbow, staring at Rick as he walked with assertion. He was really planning on going through with it; handing someone over to the enemy, all for a small chance of survival. He never even got a chance to talk to the guy, but just by looks alone, he could tell that the Governor didn’t like to play fair. He wasn’t going to keep his word. He wasn’t honorable, not like Rick. Surely Rick could see that, couldn’t he?

Everyone was out getting the prison ready for attack. Sen, Carl, and Glenn were outside in the courtyard, helping Michonne assemble tire spike strips from barbed wire and sharpened sticks. Maggie was gathering pots and pans, Beth was off tending to Judith, and Carol was in the security wing tending to the guns and ammo. Kei walked into the cell block with Ame at her side, the grey wolf trotting along the concrete floor. He stopped suddenly and perked up, tilting his head in curiosity. Kei stopped as well and looked around. White chunks of cotton and tattered strips of leather were scattered everywhere. Mattresses from the bunks of unoccupied cells were dragged out and torn up in the center. Kei furrowed as she cautiously stepped through the mess. She made it to the stairs when she heard voices. Men were muttering above her in one of the upper cells.

“ _You know, when we’d go on runs,”_ Merle sighed, _“He’d bash someone’s skull or slit someone’s throat, he’d say ‘never waste a bullet’. Yeah, I always thought it was just an excuse…”_

Kei’s eyebrows knitted together, her lips pursing as Merle went on,

“ _You go on, give him that girl,”_ He coaxed, _“Hell, give him the Asian one too. He ain’t gonna kill ‘em, ya know. He’s just gonna…do things to ‘em. Michonne’ll be first. He’ll probably take out one of her eyes, both of ‘em most likely.”_

She didn’t hear the other man say anything. She heard Merle scoff.

“ _He’s gonna save Demon Wolf for last; gonna make her his little chew-toy,”_ He remarked slowly, letting it sink in for the listener, _“You’d let that happen to ‘em, for a_ shot _…You cold as ice, officer friendly."_

Kei’s eyes fell to the concrete before looking over to the cellblock door. Quietly, she slipped away as Rick and Merle continued to talk above her. She heard Merle call Rick out, saying that he didn’t have the stomach for giving the two of them up. If he had said that a year ago, she might have agreed with him; but after seeing what he had done to Andrew and Tomas in the tombs, she wasn’t so sure now. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep the group safe. If giving up her and a stranger meant the lives of eight other people, including his daughter and son were safe, something deep in the pit of her gut told her that he just might do it.

Kei left the cellblock and walked out onto the courtyard. She saw Daryl, Glenn, and Michonne up ahead, loading the makeshift spike strips onto the truck. Beth took the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition, holding a thumbs up out the window to signal she was ready. Maggie and Carl walked out from the cellblock with pots and ladles in their hands, Ame following Carl’s side closely. Kei quickly rushed up to the three by the truck, watching as they shoved the final strip across the bed.

“We taking them out?” She asked, watching as Glenn turned and nodded.

“Better now than never,” He answered, turning around to give Michonne a hand and lift her up. The woman shouldered her katana and took Glenn’s hand, lifting herself up and onto the truck bed.

“We need to set up as soon as we can,” She explained, “Knowing the Governor, he’s gonna try and get the jump on us, arrive sooner than we expect.”

Kei nodded lightly, turning to watch Maggie and Carl walk up beside her.

“Want us to start drawing them off?” Carl asked, looking up to the dark skinned woman on the truck. Michonne looked out towards the courtyard, walkers roaming about all over the place. She turned to Carl and nodded before looking over to Kei.

“We’re gonna need you to help clear the strays while Maggie and Carl distract the rest,” She informed, “Daryl and Glenn will set down the strips along the gravel path.”

Carl and Maggie nodded and bolted off towards the corridor of fencing, Ame trotting along beside them.

[Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=94984555) waited patiently over by the gate, watching as Kei took Daryl’s hand and made her way into the truck. Beth revved the engine a little and pulled forward, Daryl signaling over to him to open the gate. The lanky Asian quickly unlocked the chain and pulled the gate open, stepping back as the silver truck slowly pulled through and made its way down the road.

* * *

Sen watched from the fence line as Maggie and Carl screamed their heads off in the lower courtyard. They stood along the fence inside the corridor of wire, banging their pots and pans rapidly. They shouted with all their heart, and the dead answered their calls. Walkers began staggering towards them, packs of them slamming their rotted bodies up against the fence. They all snarled and hissed at the two in hunger, some even attempting to chew through the wire. Sen was in awe. It was weird to think that those things were once people; people with lives, a family, and memories. He could still see echoes of who they were behind their dead, sickly faces and tattered clothing.

It was so weird to think that these things were once people.

“ _Mom!” He yelled out as he staggered into his home. Sen slammed the door shut and pinned his back up against it, listening as several steely hands clawed and pounded against the wood. He quickly locked the door and wiped his sweaty forehead, whimpering as the growls and hisses grew louder. He could hear screaming going on in the streets, along with skidding tires and shattering glass. This thing, whatever it was, had come out of nowhere. People were going crazy, eating each other and tearing each other limb from limb. It was complete chaos outside. People were killing each other over food and supplies in the grocery stores, the streets were packed with crashed cars and dead bodies. He had barely escaped work with his life. The hospital was overrun with military men slaughtering doctors and nurses in the halls. He had only managed to get out because Kei's cousin and a group of nurse co-workers had lead them through the escape route. He told Kei's family that they were to take the first flight out to Japan and stay there in the mountain village. There were currently no reports of any virus, so there was a chance it was still safe. Sen however, felt he knew better. He could only fathom being trapped on a plane for 14 hours with a chance of infected people being on board. He knew that his safest bet was to take refuge at Fort Benning, and he made sure Kei knew that too before they separated._

“ _Meet me there, okay?!” Sen yelled over the mass hysteria, “Keiko! Meet me there! Swear it!”_

“ _I'll try!” Kei called back, holding onto her little sister for dear life as they sprinted for their car. He'd never forget the look on her face through the window of her car as it sped down the road. That was the last time he saw her._

_He jumped when he suddenly heard glass break. A bloody hand reached through the side window and tried latching onto his wrist. He stumbled to the side a little and got his head back in gear. The three of them had to leave, and fast._

“ _Mom! Dad!” He cried out as he picked up his backpack. He began running around the house frantically gathering up what he could. He grabbed food, medicine, toiletries, his chargers, everything from his top six favorite dvds to his little stash of bud he kept hidden underneath his mattress. After filling up one backpack, he grabbed his late brother's old military rucksack and began filling it with clothes (not caring at this point if they were clean or dirty)._

“ _Guys! We gotta pack!” He picked up his bags and left his room, running down the hall towards the stairs, “It's getting crazy out there! People are fucking killing each other in the streets, we gotta--”_

_He stopped at the end of the steps. He stood there, his mind seeming to shut down. Everything went strangely quiet. Time seemed to stand still around him._

_His parents hung together from the indoor balcony railing above him._

_He let go of his bags, letting them drop with a loud thud. Two sets of milky eyes stared in his direction, bony arms slowly lifting themselves to reach out for him. They thrashed about like fish on a hook, growling and hissing at their living son still frozen in terror and confusion. They gnashed and growled at him like wild, rabid animals. These weren't his parents, they were..._

“ _M....” The words felt too heavy to leave his lips. He shook his head and stepped forward, stopping when he felt something under his shoe. He stepped back a little and looked down._

_It was toilet paper. A long line of toilet paper that stretched from the top of the stairs all the way down to his feet. There were was a message written in shaky black marker in his father's traditional hiragana, over and over and over:_

**GO SEN! YOU CAN MAKE IT SEN!**

**WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS**

**WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS**

**WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS**

**WE LOVE YOU AL**

_The lanky boy felt his stomach twist and he turned his head away, heaving up everything right there on the steps._

“Sen!” Rick called out, making the man turn around sharply in his leader's direction. He watched as Rick bolted through the door like a bat out of hell with his rifle at hand, staring out at the fences.

“What's wrong?!” He asked, clearly heightened from all the screaming that was going down in the courtyard below. Sen held his hands out and let out a “whoa whoa whoa!” as Rick approached him.

“It's alright!” He assured, point out at the courtyard, “It's alright, just look.”

Rick turned and looked down at the wire corridor; Carl, Ame, and Maggie safely inside. They barked and banged on pots and screamed bloody murder out at the Walkers, drawing them in on both sides as the silver Pickup carefully maneuvered around the dirt path. Glenn and Daryl pulled some sort of contraptions out from the bed of the truck and planted them out along the road. Glenn hammered the edges down a few times with a mallet before retreating back onto the truck bed. After they set up the last one Daryl went back on as well, the two men watching as Kei and Michonne walked along, casually slicing off Walker heads and chatting at the same time.

“This is amazing,” Rick breathed, watching as his group worked together on defending their home. Sen looked over at him and nodded, a crooked smile on his face.

“Yeah, well, let's hope their tires are shitty enough for those things to do some real damage,” He chirped.

“You made 'em?” Rick asked, his eyebrows raising in small surprise.

“Designed,” Sen corrected with a shrug, “Granted not my best work, but I'm pretty proud. They should get the job done.”

The leader looked down at the spike strips intently. They actually didn't look that bad, not bad at all.

“So what, were you some sort of engineer before all this?” The leader asked.

“CNA and coffee-bitch at the hospital actually,” Sen informed, chuckling at Rick's taken back expression, “But when I wasn't doing that I was an engineer student...just a semester shy of graduating, funnily enough.”

Rick nodded his head, turning to look back out at the fence,

“And then the world ended,”

“ _And then the world ended_ ,” Sen quoted. He stared out at the snarling horde of creatures below and started chuckling, “The _ultimate_ summer break.”

A smile flashed across the leaders face as he laughed, shaking his head before looking over at Sen. He had a crooked smile on his face, his dark eyes glued to the courtyard. He watched closely and noticed it falter a little,

“You alright?” Rick asked, watching as Sen rubbed his head anxiously.

“Yeah...” He sighed, “Yeah, just...thinking...how are you?”

The young adult looked over to the former cop, and Rick knew the look on his face all too well. Hershel had been giving it to him since he cleared the boiler block. It was the look that asked how he was doing mentally, and that often brought on a conversation (borderline lecture) about his responsibility and well-being.

“I know you still see her,” Sen let out, watching as the man beside him immediately looked away, “Rick, I heard you screaming out in the field the other day...The others, Carl, they're all worried about you, man.”

Sen shifted about, attempting to meet Rick's stare but with no such luck. The man just dipped his head and his grip on the wire fire fence grew tight,

“I'm fine,” He muttered, more to himself rather than the guy next to him. Sen stood back a little and stared firmly at his leader, shaking his head.

“You're full of shit,”

Rick turned his head sharply to face him, Sen's eyes staring directly at his. He wasn't being subtle about it. He was calling him out, latching on and dragging him out in the open when Rick tried to push and shut everyone out.

The leader opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he heard the roaring engine of the silver truck getting louder. He looked over to the gate and saw the truck fast approaching, Sen rushing over with Daryl's set of keys and quickly opening it up. He pushed the gate open and watched as the truck slowly made it's way through, stopping just outside the inner courtyard. Everyone hopped out of the truck and crowded around as Rick walked up to them.

“If they try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them,” Glenn spoke, watching as Rick nodded over to him in approval,

“That's a good idea,”

“It was Michonne's,” Daryl spoke, his voice giving a subtle hint to the leader on what he was thinking. Kei watched as the two shared a brief pause and a knowing glance before Rick looked away.

“We don't have to win,” Michonne chimed in, “We just have to make them getting at us more trouble than it's worth...”

Another pause. Rick seemed to struggle as he nodded lightly to her, the awkwardness seeming to lift as Maggie and Carl stepped in from the corridor with their pots and ladles at hand. Maggie casually walked up to an eager Glenn while Carl walked up to Sen, a small triumphant grin on his face. The tall man smiled down at him and playfully dipped the boy's hat in front of his eyes, laughing lightly as Carl fumbled to adjust it.

“Let's go,” Rick announced quietly, turning on his heel and walking back towards the cellblock. Everyone else followed suit, with the exception of Kei, Daryl, and Sen lagging behind a little. Sen stepped over to his best friend and slung one bony arm around her shoulder, hugging her close with his usual confident smirk on his face.

“Hey baby, you have fun out there?”

“Oh, tons,” Kei chuckled, “Better than Six flags and Disney combined.”

“Care to celebrate by giving me a cigarette? Hm?” He asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“What happened to the two I gave you last night?!” She asked. He didn't answer, he just jutted out his lip and pouted, resting his chin on her bony shoulder.

“ _Kudasai?”_ He begged, attempting to give her his biggest and best puppy-dog eyes, _“Kanari shite kudasai?”_  
(Please? Pretty please?)

She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes with a smile, digging through her coat pocket and holding up her pack of Marlboros.

“ _Anata ga shine Bambi-chan, anata wa kore o tamotsu baai_ ,” She chirped.  
(You're going to die if you keep this up, Bambi.)

She scrunched up her nose as Sen pressed his lips to her cheek and swiped the pack from her hand.

“Thanks mom,” He chirped, smirking and laughing as Kei nudged him away. He pulled one cigarette out and put it to lips, nibbling on the filter as he stayed behind to have a smoke break. Kei and Daryl continued on, the girl noticing that he was hovering closer to her than usual.

“The hell is his problem?” He mumbled over to her. Kei turned her head to look at him, her left eyebrow arched in confusion,

“What?”

“Why was he all over you like that?” He asked.

“When is he _not_ all over me?” The girl scoffed.

“'xactly,” Daryl muttered, turning his head to eye the lanky man, “He likes ya.”

This made the girl laugh. She shook her head at him, the smile still on her face,

“Daryl, he's my best friend,”

“Ain't no one gets that friendly with a girl 'nless he wants somethin',” He muttered, his eyes narrowing at the back of Sen's head.

“Oh you mean like cigarettes?” She mused.

He tilted his head and gave her a look, one that said “don't be stupid, you know what I mean.” Kei watched as he turned and narrowed his eyes over at Sen, looking more territorial than usual. If he were a dog she'd sworn he'd be growling right now. Her eyebrow cocked upward, curiosity rising with it,

“Daryl,” She spoke slowly, “You're not j--”

“Nah uh,” He interrupted, already knowing where she was headed, and deciding to trash that idea right then and there. Her mouth dropped a little in surprise, amusement mixed with slight disbelief clear on her face.

“You are!” She spoke, her voice lowering as she turned to look back at Sen, “You're a little jealous of him.”

“Ain't nothin' to be jealous over,” The hunter grumbled, “The guy's a stick, weighs a buck twenty five soakin' wet.”

He turned to look back at her, his eyes flicking briefly over to his group still walking up ahead. He looked back over to Kei, his eyes intent, focused on getting his sentence across,

“'sides, yer _my_ girl,” He muttered to her, “No one else's.”

“And you're my guy,” She replied, leaning over and pecking his cheek, “No one else's.”

Daryl chewed on the inside of his lip, looking down at her,

“Don't like him touchin' ya like he does,” He admitted, “Only yer man should get to touch ya like that.”

“He's not going to do anything, ” She assured, listening as the hunter scoffed through his nose, “I mean it, I'm not even his type.”

“Says you,” He retorted, “Yer every guy's type. Any one of 'em'd be lucky to have ya.”

“That's sweet, but I mean really, _I'm not his type_ ,” She pressed, her voice lowering as she leaned in, “As in I'm not even the right gender.”

Daryl's eyebrows knitted together, his expression encouraging her to explain further,

“He bats for the other team,” She answered, sighing at Daryl's tilted head and still blank expression, “He likes guys, Daryl.”

She could practically see the cogs and wheels slowly turning in his head as he spoke, “You mean, he's--”

“Yes,” She muttered, “He likes guys, and very much so. So there's no need to get all fussy.”

“I ain't fussy,” He asserted, his eyes narrowing at her as she laughed, “And I ain't jealous.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” She chirped, her eyebrows raised in amusement. Daryl gently nudged her in the shoulder and Kei nudged him right back. He nudged her even harder and laughed when Kei attempted to punch him in the shoulder. He quickly reached over wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her in and bending them both over. Kei yelled out “Uncle!” before he even had a chance to mess up her hair. He let go immediately and gave her a triumphant smirk as the girl straightened out her jacket and stuck out her tongue at him.

“I'm going to get you for that,” She promised, the smile never leaving her face as Daryl shook his head.

“Good luck with that. What are we, two and three hundred now?”

“I beat you last week!” She proclaimed.

“'xactly, that was yer second win,” He laughed, earning another punch in the shoulder. Kei placed her hands on his back and pushed him ahead.

“Go help Glenn, you asshole,” She giggled, watching as the hunter began walking a few steps ahead of her, “Oh! Hey!”

Daryl turned around, looking at her quizzically as she rushed up to him. She placed her lips on his and smiled up at him when she broke away,

“I love you,”

* * *

Rick sent everyone off on separate assignments, Sen and Kei's being the ammo/gun distributors. Automatics and Snipers up top on the catwalk, hand guns and shotgun rifles in the lower court. Sen was up on the catwalk placing ammo and rifles at each post while Kei checked the guns and rifles in the courtyard below. She heard the metal door creak open from above and looked up. Rick's boots steadily hit against the pavement as he walked across, stopping at Sen's back. He didn't turn around. He didn't even acknowledge the leader. He just kept working, checking the ammo boxes he set down behind one of the wood panels.

Rick shifted, looking down in obvious anxiety while Sen continued to work. Kei's eyebrow raised slightly. Rick's lips moved, the leader talking to Sen casually as he walked along and set ammo boxes down. Sen shook his head as he shouldered his rifle, his lips moving as well. Rick looked taken back for a minute. Sen started walking over to the next station, Rick trailing after him as his lips moved more.

Suddenly a sharp whistle went off from across the courtyard. She looked over and saw Merle was poking his head out from the door atop the stairs.

“Ay! Wolf Girl!” He hollered, “Need yer help with somethin'!”

“I'm busy,” She called back.

“Come on now, girl! It'll only be a minute!” He assured, “I just need ya and that sword  a'yers to get rid of some Walkers!”

Kei continued to work, letting out a frustrated breath as Merle continued to holler and goad her into doing what he wanted. She set down her final box of ammo and looked up at the sky, letting out a loud “Alright! Jesus!” over his last stitch effort to get her to help. He gave her an impish grin as she stomped up to him, the two knocking shoulders as she brushed past.

“Don' you worry now girl, Michonne'll be there too,” He chirped behind her, “With you n' her together, we'll have the tombs cleared in no time.”

Kei simply rolled her eyes, letting out a huff through her nose. He might as well have been straight with her. It didn't take a genius to know what he was up to, but perhaps that was because she had already heard the plan. What interested her, personally, was the fact that he would go behind Rick _and_ Daryl's back to try and take her as well. Surely he didn't think that he could just kidnap his brother's girl, and then come back to the prison with open arms from him.

Unless he was planning on giving her a shot, a chance to get close to the Governor and kill him.

Her mind reeled and her heart raced at the sudden idea. Even if it wasn't in the Older Dixon's plan, this was her shot. She had a chance to get closer than ever and kill him. She could save Daryl and Sen and everyone back at the prison and get her revenge. If she did this, she could end it. She could end it today.

The girl pursed her lips and followed Merle into the cellblock, gathering up Michonne and getting ready to head into the tombs.

* * *

“So where is it?” Michonne asked, her sword firmly at her side as the three of them trekked through the dark hall. Kei looked around cautiously, her sword at the ready as she listened for any threats staggering around in the tombs.

“'round the corner,” Merle spoke, pointing his makeshift bayonet attachment to the end of the hall, “We gotta clear some walkers, then get the others down here to barricade it.”

Kei had walked past a cell and jumped when a pair of arms suddenly reached out to her. Michonne's hand instantly latched to the girl's arm and she pulled her close, keeping her away from the Prison walker that growled and hissed at them from behind bars. Both women stared at it for a minute before looking back to Merle. The Older Dixon swallowed and shrugged, jutting his head toward the end of the all.

“A breach like this could be an open invitation to the Governor,” He finished, stepping forward and continuing on. Michonne's dark eyes narrowed only slightly before flicking over to Kei's. The dark haired girl pursed her lips before turning on her heel, following behind Merle as the three of them kept walking through the tombs.

“He's not much for subtlety,” Michonne spoke out, her demeanor as cautious as her tone. Merle and Kei froze in place when the sound of snarling grew louder from around the corner down the hall. They watched as shadows danced across the walls before Walkers emerged from behind the corner. Kei held up her sword and made a beeline for the first walker while Merle turned to Michonne,

“You wanna take your chances?”

Kei thrust her blade forward and stabbed the first Prison Walker in the skull. As that one fell, more began pooling in from behind the corner. She swung her sword around swiftly and hacked off the arms of one Walker that had tried to reach for her. A couple walkers had managed to slip past her and staggered their way towards Michonne and Merle. The tall woman with the braids struck her sword forward like a viper into a walkers skull. Merle was less than graceful about his kill. He merely grabbed the creature by the throat and pulled it forward, thrusting his bayonet into the skull before carelessly throwing the body aside like a wad of tissue.

Three more Walkers pooled in. They were Civilians, and they seemed slower than the others, weaker too. They took their sweet time as they staggered and limped their way towards Kei. The girl gripped her sword tight and watched them cautiously, calculating her next move. She stepped forward to slice the face off of the only Walker, but stopped when she heard Merle grunt out from behind her and something hard hit the floor. She turned around sharply. Michonne laid sprawled out face down on the floor, clearly just knocked out cold by something hard and blunt.

She looked over and saw the Older Dixon's wild, dark gray eyes. His square jaw clenched and before Kei knew it, a pair of steely fingers had gripped her free arm. She turned around sharply and smacked her sword into its skull, the blade only managing to cut through half of its head before getting stuck. She tried to yank it out as hard as she could, but before she could officially do so, something hard smacked against the back of her head. A flash of hot white light consumed her vision before her whole world went dark.

* * *

“Hey! Dixon!” Sen called, rushing up to the hunter in the courtyard, “You seen Kei?”

Daryl turned around, watching as Sen gripped his bo staff tight and turned every which way, looking for his best friend.

“Prolly off with Carl somewhere,” The hunter answered.

“I asked Carl, he said he hadn't seen her since this morning,” Sen replied, looking from the catwalk over to the basketball courts, “I talked to Carol and Beth too, they haven't seen her.” He turned around and faced Daryl, watching as his stormy eyes narrowed and his jaw bobbed. Just as he opened his mouth, Rick came rushing out from the cellblock, turning and looking every which way just like Sen did.

“It's off,” He announced, his eyes glued to Daryl as he walked up to the two, “We'll take our chances.” 

Sen tilted his head in confusion, “Wait a minute, wha--”

“I'm not sayin' it was the wrong call, but this is definitely the right one,” Daryl spoke, furrowing at Rick's heightened demeanor, “What's wrong?”

“I can't find Merle or Michonne,” The leader answered, “They've gone,”

“Kei's gone too,” Sen added in, looking to the two men in confusion, “What's going on?”

“Come on,” Daryl ignored Sen's question and jerked his head in the generator room's direction. He rushed across the courtyard and made his way up the steps, Rick following closely behind him as they entered the tombs.

 

“He was in here,” Daryl explained as he entered the generator room, “Said he was lookin' fer drugs...Said a lot of things, actually.”

“Like what?” Rick asked, following the hunter closely.

“Said that you were gonna change yer mind,” The hunter answered, stepping into the other side of the room,“Here we go.”

He knelt down on the floor and picked up a potato sack that still laid there on the floor. He looked around and could see where Merle had laid down a set of bodies, the dust on the concrete all smeared and shifted around.

“He took 'em here,” He remarked, “They mixed it up.”

“Damn it!” Rick hissed, turning on his heel and heading for the door, “I'm goin' after 'em.”

“You can't track for shit,” Daryl remarked.

“Well then the both of us!” Rick insisted.

“No, just me. I said I'd go and I'll go,” He asserted, brushing past Rick as he stalked over to the exit, “Plus they're gonna come back here, you need to be ready...”

The leader watched as Daryl looked down at the ground as he pushed the door open with is back,

“ _Yer family too._ ”

And with those words he slid out into the daylight and disappeared behind the metal door. Rick shook his head and turned around to walk back, only to freeze solid when he saw what stood in his way. His heart panged against his ribcage and the lump in his throat grew big. Sen stood there at the doorway, the look on his face saying everything. He had heard every word, and he was pissed.

“What do you mean...he took them?” He asked slowly, his voice clearly strained as he tried to keep his cool. Rick turned on his heel and held a hand out, trying to signal for him to stay calm.

“Sen-”

“What the _fuck_ did he mean when he said you were gonna change your mind, Rick?!” He snapped, “About what?!”

The man swallowed, watching Sen intently as he continued to hold his hand out.

“About...handing Michonne over to the Governor,” He admitted, “He said if we did that, he'd leave us alone.” 

Sen's eyes narrowed and his brows knitted together as he shook his head, “Why the hell is Kei gone, then?”

“...He wanted her too,” Rick confessed, watching as Sen growled and rolled his eyes, “I had said _no_ about Kei but--”

“Oh well _shit,_ that makes it okay then, doesn't it?!” Sen let out while throwing his arms up,“Of course the fucking homicidal rapist is going to listen to you, Rick! He's all about keeping pinky promises and being the fucking good guy!”

“Sen I said-”

“I don't give a _fuck_ if you said no at the time!” He bit frantically, his aussie-japanese accent fully apparent at this point, “You should've told him to fuck on off and then shot him in his other eye!”

“Sen we're going to get them back!” The leader yelled, “Daryl's going after them, he's tracking the-”

“I'm going too,” Sen spoke out, gripping his bo staff as he stomped forward towards the door. Rick stepped in front of him and blocked his way,

“No,” He asserted.

“Move,” Sen bit.

“No!” The leader repeated.

“ _Rick_ ,” The guy warned bitterly.

“I need you here, okay?!” The sheriff let out in a harsh whisper, “I'm not...”

He paused instantly, closing his eyes and taking a much needed breath.

“...I'm not okay,” He uttered slowly, looking back at Kei's best friend, “I need you here, please.”

Sen's brown eyes narrowed momentarily before they went soft. He closed them and let out a sigh, shaking his head before looking back at the leader in breif defeat.

“...Fine,” He caved, “But if I stay, you have to actually let me _help you,_ Rick. We clear?”

The leader nodded, avoiding the guy's intense stare as his blue eyes fell to the floor,

“...Clear,”

* * *

Kei could hear the rumbling of an old engine, little vibrations surging through her body as she laid across something soft. Her eyes fluttered open and shut. She could hear voices, see blurred shapes and shadows. She moved her arms. They ached, and she was bound at the wrists with a cable of some sort. She tried moving her legs, and even though they were free, they felt like lead weights. Her head felt the same as well, only this time with a dull aching throb in the back of her skull.

She managed to fully open her eyes. She blinked a few times, registering that there was figure in the front seat of some random car she was in. She looked up in the rear-veiw mirror, Merle's stormy grey eyes looking back at her.

“Ah, Sleepin' Beauty's finally awake!”

She opened her mouth to swear at him, but an old dirty bandana blocked her words. She chewed and yelled at him through the gag, demanding that he took it off of her.

“No can do, sweetheart,” He refused, as if understanding her muffled English, “Nearly bit off my face back there in the woods when ya first woke up. Had to knock ya out again just to get the gag on, dragged you all the way here myself.”

“Care to tell her how you nearly let her get eaten by a horde at that shithole motel?” Michonne chimed in. Kei's eyes widened and she let out a noise through her gag. Merle tilted his head and cracked his neck a little as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Ah I had it under control,” He replied calmly, “It was barely a crowd. Only two or three...”

“More like ten,” Michonne muttered, turning her head to look down at the girl in the backseat, “You alright?”

The girl nodded, her dark eyes flicking over to the one-handed man in the driver's seat. He just kept his eyes on the road, a surprisingly easygoing smile on his face.

"So is this your thing then? Take out the trash?" Michonne asked bitterly.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, Darlin'." Merle replied.

"The Governor, Rick, anyone who needs their piss bucket emptied and you come a-runnin'," She looked over at him with her dark eyes and watched as he smiled and gave a light laugh. She glanced back out through the windshield, her expression vacant, calm, "Things are different for your brother."

"Yeah they are,” Merle quipped, “Rick says 'jump' and he wants to know how high."

"Mm-mmm,” She replied with a shake of her head, “Rick needs him. Respects him...Didn't ask _him_ to this little job now did he?"

"Nah, 'cuz he wants it _done_ ," Merle retorted.

"You keep tellin' yourself that,” She stated, amusement dripping from her soft voice. She paused for a moment, staring at him with firm eyes as he looked on, "The truth is, this could've been your shot. With your skills... _a whole new beginning_. But you choose to stay on the outside...”

Kei waited for Merle to say something, anything, but he didn't. He just kept silent as Michonne continued to talk and pick away at his patience.

“No one's gonna mourn you,” She said suddenly, “Not even Daryl...He's got a new family."

Even that made Kei raise her eyebrows in surprise. She wasn't holding anything back right now. She was pulling out all the stops, more than willing to say something, anything, to get him to either let his guard down or let her go. Even something so harsh (and only slightly untrue) as what she had just said. The woman shook her head and looked back out the window, her face blank as a sheet as Merle let out a sigh.

"You keep tryin' to get under my skin, I'm gonna cut that tongue out," Merle turned his head and looked over at the woman next to him, "Your buddy's turnin' you over cuz he's tryin' to save his own ass. Yer as much on the outside as I am, girl."

"Maybe...” Michonne muttered, just loud enough for the other two to hear, “But once The Governor's done with me at least I won't have to live with myself."

Kei's dark eyes flicked over towards the man in the driver's seat. He didn't say a single word, not one. He kept silent for the next 10 minutes or so, occasionally looking in the rear view back at Kei to make sure she wasn't fiddling with her bonds. The girl had kept still the whole time, mostly because her head ached like a bitch and moving around didn't help it at all.

"You said you killed... sixteen men since this thing started?” Michonne mused, her voice breaking the silence, “You ever kill anyone before?"

"...No..." The older Dixon said simply, briefly looking over at her. He chewed on his lip and stared back out at the road,

"And how 'bout before Woodbury?" She asked curiously, watching as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Before you met _him_?"

The man only stared out at the road ahead, not giving her an answer. Michonne caught on quickly however, and only scoffed, "So he saved your life, cleaned you up, fed you a line of _bullshit_... why would you kill somebody else for him?"

Merle continued to stay silent.

"You know we _can_ go back." Michonne pressed. Merle smiled, chuckling shaking his head,

"Ain't happenin'."

"The three of us... we can just _go back_." The two girls stared at him and watched as he shook his head, his mouth opening and shutting as he hesitated.

"I can't... _go back,_ ”He stressed, _“_ Don't you understand that? I can't!" There was a long pause between the three and a very faint smile formed on Michonne's lips, her final word seeming to be the feather that broke the camel's back,

" _Why?_ "

Merle shoved his foot on the brakes and the car came to a screeching stop. Kei nearly rolled off the backseat, her hands and legs stopping her from falling into the deep space between her seat and Merle's and Michonne's. She stared over at Merle and watched as he turned halfway in his seat, glaring at Michonne. She heard a faint _S_ _nap_ and saw Michonne lift her hands, freeing herself from the wire around her fingers and wrists. The three of them remained quiet. Michonne looked as confused and wary as Kei as Merle leaned back into his seat.

"You two go back with them,” He demanded, “Get ready for what's next." He then leaned over Michonne and opened the door, shoving it open for her, "I got somethin' I gotta do on my own,"

Michonne continued to stare at him, hesitant to get out until Merle nodded to her that it was okay. Slowly, she exited the vehicle and stood outside the door. She watched as Merle turned around and reached in back, cutting the cable wire on Kei's wrists. The girl immediately ripped off her gag and tossed it aside, watching frantically in disbelief as Merle handed Michonne her sword. She carefully took it and looked over to Kei in the back seat, waiting for her to get out as well.

“Go on now, Girl,” Merle spoke, looking over at her through the mirror, “My brother's probably tearin' the group a new one just lookin' for ya.”

“I'm going with,” She spoke out, earning surprised looked from both Merle and Michonne.

“Kei--”

“Like hell you are,” Merle bit.

“That's why you wanted me to come with, right?!” Kei retorted, “To end this. To get close to him and end this for us.”

“Brought you with so I could show good faith,” Merle explained, “He wants to chain ya up and keep ya as his little f-”

“I know what he wants me for,” The girl interrupted, “All the more reason why you need me. I'm not what I put off to be, remember?”

She stared over at Merle and saw a faint smirk appear on his face. He scoffed through his nose, shaking his head and looking down at his lap.

“Now I know why my brother likes ya,” He chuckled, “Yer a crazy little bit, ya know that?”

“Kei,” Michonne spoke, leaning down into the doorway, “Don't do this. You're outnumbered and outgunned. Just come back with me. We can plan this out-”

Kei shook her head no, her heart dead set on this plan. It was now or never. She had to do this now.

“I'm going,” She said firmly. Merle revved the engine on the car a few times and Michonne stepped back shut the door. She quickly leaned back down into the open window, staring over at the dark haired girl with concern washed over her face.

“What do you want me to tell Daryl?” She asked out, throwing the girl for a small loop. Kei looked down with knitted eyebrows in thought. Daryl. What was there to tell Daryl. That she was sorry? That she was doing this for them? That she loved him with every fiber of her being?

“Time to go, sweetheart,” Merle spoke, pulling the car forward. She looked up and saw that the car was picking up speed. She quickly reached over and rolled down her window, sticking half her body through to look back at Michonne on the side of the road. She cupped her hands around her mouth and took a huge breath,

“Tell him he sucks and that I'm leaving him for his brother!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to spoil you all and I'm giving you a nice big update. 
> 
> I've gotta hit the books big time for the next few weeks, so i might be silent for a bit, but do not fret! I'm not abandoning this story, nor do i have any intention to. It's too much fun, lol. ^.^  
> Enjoy, cuties! xx


	36. This Sorrowful Life pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Look alive, babydoll,” He announced in an amused tone, “It's showtime.”

“Do you have to play this music?!” Kei yelled over the sound of Ted Nugent's 'Turn it Up' blaring in the CD player. She plugged her ears and watched as Merle tipped the bottle of whiskey he had her get and guzzle it down. He let out a little hiss as he wiped his mouth and smiled his classic smile at her.

“Ain't nothin' wrong with a little Rock n' Roll, babydoll!” He whooped, “The world may have gone to shit, but this, this right here is forever.”

She winced as the guitarist let out another series of heavy, high-pitched guitar riffs. Merle just simply laughed at her discomfort and continued downing the bottle.

“You mind telling me why we're parked outside a liquor joint blasting music?!” She asked out, lowering her voice as Merle lowered the music.

“I know, I know, iss'not my ideal first date either,” He looked over at her and laughed at her taken back expression, “Chill, girl! Just pullin' yer leg, now. No need to look like a deer in headlights.”

He took another hearty swig before handing her the bottle. She took a small sip, one that earned her a tsk-tsk-tsk from the man next to her.

“Pitiful,” He mused, “Come on now, Wild Child. Where's she at?! The crazy bit who's bangin' my little brother and willin' to die with me instead of him?!”

“That sounds terrible when you word it like that,” She remarked.

“S'the truth,” He scoffed as he scratched the back of his head, “Don't know why you came, to be honest. Thought you'd be by my brother's side, like a good little dog.”

“I'm here for the same reason you are,” She chirped, her eyes looking down at the bottle of whiskey, “So that we have a chance to spend a little more time with him.”

She turned and looked back at the older Dixon, a look of complete surprise on his face. The corner of his mouth twitched a little before the two of them broke out into a loud laugh. Kei covered her mouth as she laughed, laughing even harder as Merle slapped his knee and shook his head.

“You ain't here for that hallmark bullshit and you know it, girl!” He hollered, wiping his teary eyes with his good hand.

“Then what am I here for, if not for love, Merle Dixon?” She asked in a dramatic tone.

“Yer here for ya pound of flesh,” He answered, his laugh dying down and melding into a serious tone, “You want blood. _His_ blood. You want him to pay for what he did to ya.”

The corner of her mouth perked up in a smirk, a smirk that would have intimidated any other man. Not Merle Dixon though. After all, he had it on his face too.

“Look at ya, the thought of him dead is practically _shinin'_ in yer eyes,” He said in amusement, “My brother know yer this crazy?”

“I think he has an idea,” She replied, the same amused smile on her face.

“Can see why he loves ya,” He chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down at his hand, “Never thought he'd latch onto ya like he did though. Haven't seen him get all territorial like that since he found that ol' fat-ass of a cat of ours when we was kids.”

“You had a cat?” She asked, her eyebrow arching slightly.

“ _Daryl_ had a cat,” He corrected, “This dirty black stray he found while walkin' home from school, I think. Wouldn't let any of us touch it. One kid he was with tried to snatch the thing and the poor bastard nearly had his face bashed in.”

Kei watched as Merle scoffed at the memory and shook his head.

“Don't know why I let you come with,” He muttered, “Daryl's prolly gonna try and kick my ass if we get back...”

“When,” She corrected.

“We ain't comin' back, girl,” He asserted, “Never get optimistic before a fight.”

“I'm always optimistic before a fight,” She assured, “You and I are going to kill him, and then we're going back to the prison with the rest of this whiskey.”

The corner of Merle's mouth moved into a genuine smile, the man nodding before looking ahead. Three walkers had emerged from the woods and were staggering in their direction. They were only a couple feet or so from the car.

“Look alive, babydoll,” He announced in an amused tone, “It's showtime.”

He turned the music back up and watched as the corpses began swarming around their car. He turned towards Kei and watched as she tipped the bottle upwards, taking a huge swig before handing over the bottle. She wiped her mouth and smiled, earning a nod of approval from the man beside her. Together they shared the rest of the whiskey, listening to Rock n' Roll and watching as the undead pounded and clawed at their car.

It wasn't their ideal first date, but at the same time, neither of them could see it going any other way.

 

Kei watched in a buzzed daze as Merle eased them along the narrow road. She recognized her surroundings easily enough. They were almost to the old feeding mill; the place where the Governor had met them before to discuss peace terms. She scoffed at the idea. Peace.

A numb and awkward smile stretched across her lips as she looked in the rear view mirror. A slew of Walkers staggered along behind them like little ducklings. They were drawn to the rock and roll music Merle had on at an obnoxiously high volume. As the whiskey started to kick in and the more she listened, she realized it wasn't half bad. Not bad at all, actually. She found herself bobbing to the beat and even had an urge to head bang a couple times.

The car began to bob up and down as Merle drove off into the grass. He pulled into the old feeding mill and made his way through the back where the maze of silos were.

“You ready to do this, girl?”

She nodded her head firmly, holding the door handle tight as Merle grabbed his rifle. He put his hand on his door and looked over to her, an oddly familiar expression on his face. Kei furrowed a little at it, the expression eerily similar to what Daryl gave her whenever they were about to do something dangerous.

“Stick close to me,” He said to her. And with that he pushed the driver's seat door open and fell out, rolling across the grass a couple times before scrambling to his feet. Kei quickly opened hers as well and mimicked the same actions, falling into the grass with a hard thud. She got up to her feet and gripped the back of her Katana as she followed Merle along, the Older Dixon carefully and quickly leading them through the maze of silos. She could hear the sounds of Merle's harsh breathing and the Walker's hisses, along with the muffled noise coming from the car as it continued it's way down the path without a driver. Kei was actually really impressed. It was a pretty good plan so far.

She followed Merle inside an abandoned part of the mill just across from where The Governor was expecting them. Or rather to ambush them, the girl thought.

“Duck!” Merle hissed, bending down and hiding as raised voices sounded outside. Kei ducked down as well, her knees planting against the creaky, dirty floor boards beneath her. She listened as she heard several boots scrape and patter against the ground outside. She could hear men yelling and guns cocking over the sound of her racing heart. It was then she realized that this was real. This really was life or death right now. There were triple the amount of men out there with guns loaded, ready and willing to kill the two of them if they got caught. The very thought smacked down on her like a ton of bricks and her mind started to race. Holy shit, what on earth were they doing?!

“You get that window over there,” Merle's rough voice muttered. Hearing him seemed to bring the girl back, ripping her from her thoughts and rooting her right here in the situation. It really was life or death now. If she wanted to live, if she wanted to see her group and Daryl safe, she had to fight now. She had to fight and win.

The girl took a deep breath through her nose and nodded firmly, carefully making her way towards the window on the other end of the room. Merle hunkered down against the wall next to him and pointed his rifle out towards the clearing in the center.

He watched as several Woodbury men made their way over to the abandoned car on the other side. He picked up his rifle and walked across to the other window, pointing his weapon at the line of soldiers that had their backs turned. They pointed their guns at the horde that swarmed around the car, shock and disbelief on all their faces.

“We got walkers!” One man shouted out, “They're all over!”

“Take 'em out! Take 'em out!” Martinez shouted. The men all raised their guns and began raining a hail of bullets down on the creatures. Kei watched from her window as more Walkers pooled out from the woods and the streets, drawn to the ruckus that only grew louder.

She turned her head when she heard Merle fire a shot, taking down a Woodbury guy with insanely long dark hair. The man fell to the ground screaming in agony, but the others just kept shooting. They didn't even acknowledge him. They were completely focused on the growing horde now staggering in their direction.

Another gunshot. Merle had taken down another guy with surprising accuracy, given all the whiskey he had consumed only minutes prior. Kei licked her lips a little and held up her handgun, pointing it out the window and over towards a man in a trucker cap. She took in a slow breath and pulled the trigger, watching as a chunk of his right shoulder blew off. One by one the Governor's men fell, Kei and Merle carefully picking them off as chaos ensued outside in the battlefield. The girl was impressed, Merle Dixon's plan was actually working. After firing her last shot on a Walker (the damned thing staggered in the way of her target), she quickly scrambled to reload her weapon. Merle switched windows an continued to fire with expert precision on guy after guy, looking through his scope as the frantic survivors looked every which way for the source of unfriendly fire. Kei continued her assault through the other window, carefully firing shot after shot. Her dark eyes scanned through the chaotic scene for her true target; the one she was saving an entire clip for. When she couldn't spot the governor outside her window, she quickly rushed on over next to Merle and looked out his. Sure enough there he was in all his glory, holding his handgun out towards an oncoming walker. Kei looked over and could tell Merle had him in his sights. His stormy grey eyes locked onto the leader as the cross hairs lined up to his temple. He took a deep breath and his finger pressed down on the trigger.

Kei watched with wide eyes, her heart racing a mile a minute as she stared over at The Governor. This was it. He was going to fall over and die and it would finally end.

But just as Merle pulled the trigger, a young boy in his early teens suddenly stepped forward with his rifle aimed at an oncoming walker. Had he not taken that extra step, the bullet would've gone through the Governor's right temple. Unfortunately, the bullet went straight through the boy's left shoulder. Blood bursted out from his lanky body and splattered onto the Governor's shoulder. He turned sharply, watching as the boy next to him flung back and landed onto the grass. Kei let out a sharp swear and pointed her gun forward, ready to unload everything she had on him. She put her finger on the trigger and was just about to fire when Merle suddenly let out a loud, “GIRL, MOVE!”

Kei pulled the trigger out of shock and yelped when an arm suddenly shoved her back. She stumbled backwards and tripped, falling over and landing behind a pile of feeding sacks. She let out a loud swear as her head smacked against the wall, her vision blurring for a minute as she heard Merle's shouts and grunts. She listened as two sets of feet scuffled across the wooden floor, a familiar and menacing snarl following suit. It was a Walker. Kei's eyes widened and she sat up straight, looking over at the Older Dixon as he fought for his life.

“You stay back! I got this!” Merle shouted to her, smacking the creature across the skull with his bayonet. He had only managed to peel off skin and a little bone, but he made up for it when he drew his arm back and thrust it forward, shoving his weapon attachment through the creature's eye socket. He gripped onto the walker tight and pinned him against the door, the thing suddenly swinging open and causing them both to tumble out. Kei was just about to scream after him when she saw three extra bodies run up and surround him. Martinez and two other men started kicking and beating the shit out of him with their guns. The older Dixon only grunted and hissed, trying to get up off the ground to fight back.

“YOU LEAVE HIM TO ME!” A familiar voice shouted. Kei's body instantly froze up, her eyes widening as The Governor dragged Merle inside and shoved him to the floor. Her mind instantly split in two, one side telling her to get up and shoot the Governor, the other telling her to fucking stay low and stay hidden behind the pile.

“Get up,” Wild Kei screamed, “Get up! Get up you fucking coward! Shoot him! Shoot him in the chest!”

“Don't,” Other Kei whimpered, “Don't! You're outnumbered, out-gunned! He'll kill you both and you would have died for nothing!”

“Merle's going to die!” Wild Kei shouted.

“You're going to die if you stand up!” Other Kei shouted back.

“Don't...” A rough voice murmured. Kei's eyes widened, her eyes peeking through a small space between two sacks of feed. Her dark fearful eyes looked over into Merle's dull greys as he struggled to get up off the floor. His eyes locked onto hers, his expression telling her all that it needed to. He had made the decision for her.

He wanted her to stay put. He wanted her to live.

His bloodied lips formed a pained thin line as he struggled to shake his bruised head.

“Don't...” He muttered to her again, coughing and spitting out blood.

“What's that, Dixon?!” The Governor barked, watching with burning hatred as the traitor struggled to turn his head.

“Don't...” He huffed, panting a few times before starting again, “Don't try to ruin yer nice shoes with them kicks now, Philly.”

He let out a rough laugh that was cut short when The Governor kicked him sharply in the jaw. Merle rolled back and struggled to turn and try to pick himself up, but the manic leader just kicked him right in the gut, knocking the air right out of him. The older Dixon slammed his metal stump against The Governor's leg, but it seemed to have no effect on him. Instead the Governor shoved his foot down on Merle's chest, making the man sputter and choke out for air. He reached down to grab Merle by the shirt, but the older Dixon swung his good hand around and socked the man right in the jaw. The Governor stumbling back gave Merle enough time to scramble to his feet and slam his body up against the disgruntled leader. As the two fought for their lives like a pair of caged animal's, Kei's trembling self began searching frantically around her for her gun. She needed it. She needed it now so she could end it. She looked around but she couldn't find it! It had to have fallen out of her hands when she tripped and fell.

She mentally swore in frustration and reached in back of her, gripping the handle of her Katana tight. She watched with wide eyes as The Governor had Merle pinned up against the wall, Merle shoving his hand against the leaders face to try and disable him. The Governor's mouth suddenly opened up and bit down on Merle's last two fingers, Merle letting out an ear splitting cry as the insane man latched on and tore at them like a rabid dog. He tore his mouth from the older Dixon's hand, two fingers still securely caught between his teeth. Kei's mouth dropped as he spat them out to some unknown location, headbutting Merle with brute force and yanking him off the wall. He pinned him up against an old generator and snapped his arm, the loud crack making Kei cover her mouth in shock. A whimper almost escaped her lips, the young girl clamping her hands over her mouth to hold it in. Her entire body shook as The Governor continued his brutal assault on Daryl's brother, finally stopping after hearing a only a couple seconds worth of Merle's sputtering and gasping from being held at the neck for so long. The Governor took a few steps back and spat some excess blood from his mouth to the floor.

He was there, right there in front of her. All she had to do was stand up and swing her sword. She could cut off his head. She could save Merle. She could end it. So why wasn't she standing? Why wouldn't she move? Merle needed help.

The memory of his rough voice saying, “ _Don't_ ,” kept playing over and over in her head. It's what kept her hidden behind the pile, and what rooted her to the floor. It's what kept her eyes locked on the scene before her, watching as Merle struggled and stared bitterly at the lean man with the bloodied face.

“I ain't gonna beg!” He choked out firmly, “I ain't beggin' you!”

He stared venomously at the one-eyed man as he shook his head, blood dribbling down his chin as his face grew oddly serene.

“No...” He spoke out simply. Kei watched and her heart leapt in her throat as The Governor raised his gun. Her entire body jumped as the ear-splitting sound of a gunshot cracked through the air. She could hear a faint shrill scream in her ears as Merle's body jerked and blood spurted out of his chest. Time seemed to stand still for her. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't breathe. Her lungs felt like lead weights. The walls were closing in. Everything was shaking. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She could only watch, watch as Merle's body slumped to the ground and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

The sound of his body hitting the floor made her eyes grow wide; it seeming to rip her fears out from under her and shove only a single thought in it's place:

This sick fuck killed Merle.

He had to die.

He had to die.

He had to

Kei shot up from the floor and charged through the sack of feed, knocking them over as she stumbled and screamed bloody murder for the man in front of her. The Governor turned sharply and stumbled back as a silver blade suddenly thrust down in front of him, cutting into the metal pipe right beside him. Kei yanked it out and swung it around, attempting to hack the Governor's head clean off. The man ducked down and charged straight for her, barreling into her stomach and tackling her to the floor. The girl dropped her sword and started going crazy, flailing and clawing at whatever skin she could get her hands on. She yanked at his hair with one hand and attempted to claw at his cheek with the other, her efforts no match to the manic leader's strength. He brought one fist down into her side and punched her square in the ribs, making her scream even louder than before. It wasn't until after the 3rd hit or so that she finally let go of his hair to curl up, but The Governor got up to his knees and pinned her to the floor by the shoulders with his hands. He watched as the girl under her attempted to sit up, using all her strength against his own as she screamed and flared her teeth at him. The man above her was in complete awe.

“You really are a fucking animal,” He hissed, holding her down as she violently thrashed about, screaming and shouting inaudible things to him. He slapped her across the face to shut her up, but she just kept screaming, attempting to move her head up to try and rip his throat out. She couldn't hear what he was saying. She didn't care. She wanted to see blood, his blood. She wanted to see him hurt. She wanted him dead.

“I'm going to kill you!” She growled, “I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!”

He picked her up and slammed her down against the floor, listening as her head smacked against the wood panels. It didn't seem to effect her much, if at all. She just screamed and turned her head, opening her mouth wide and clamping down into his wrist. She bit down as hard as she could, listening as the Governor let out a loud yell and lifted his other hand, punching her square in the head in attempts to get her to let go. Kei still held on, biting down as hard as she could through the pain as The Governor continued to hit her. She could taste iron on her lips and felt something warm and bitter slide onto her tongue, giving her no choice but to swallow as she kept her mouth latched onto his wrist. She felt her head being lifted momentarily before being slammed back down, her vision flashing white as her head smacked against the ground. The Governor tore his wrist from her mouth and punched her in the face this time, watching as her head flung to the side.

Kei lifted her head to reach for his throat, but something cold and hard pressed into her shoulder. She kept her wild, coal black eyes locked on his as he pressed the barrel of his gun further into her shoulder. His lips curled in bitterness and hatred.

“I should kill you, you know,” He hissed through his teeth, “I should rip you to pieces...you're gonna regret comin' here like this...”

“...Girl...” A man's voice suddenly choked out. The Governor looked over to Merle's body and saw his dull grey eyes looking straight towards the manic girl under him. Within a second Kei's instincts kicked in and she used her free arm to try and knock the gun away. Her shoulder was free from it for only a second, and Kei used that second to bring her open palm up and strike the distracted leader in the face. She felt his nose crunch and watched as his head fell back. He grunted in agony as he held his face, blood starting to ooze down his stubbled chin. He only let go for second and fumbled around to regain control of her, but doubled over when a bony leg smacked straight into his crotch. He let go of the gun and fell to the floor, Kei scrambling to her feet to grab her sword. As The Governor scrambled to get his gun, the girl ran over and grabbed her weapon, holding it tight and screaming as she turned around to hack his head off. The Governor gripped his gun tight and pointed his gun straight at her, yelling and pulling the trigger without second thought.

* * *

Daryl treaded across the feeding mill carefully, weaving around walkers and human bodies in the like. The place was dead silent, none of the Governor's men were around. Merle and Kei were nowhere to be seen.

The young hunter gripped his crossbow tight and pointed it at a distracted walker. The thing was feeding on the guts of a fallen Woodbury soldier, paying no mind to the living sack of flesh creeping up behind it. Daryl pulled the trigger of his crossbow and a bolt flew straight out, smacking into the skull of the creature.

He reloaded his weapon and stepped forward to take out the second one just up ahead. The Walker sat hunched over the body of a young kid, gnawing on it's intestines. Daryl was only a stone's throw away when he noticed how odd this Walker behaved (using only one hand to grab it's food) and just how familiar this creature was.

Merle looked up from the carcass with his bloodshot eyes, raw chunks of meat dangling from his thin lips. He stared over at his little brother, watching, as the young hunter dropped his weapon in disbelief.

He shook his head, watching as his older brother slowly stood up and growled at him. Blood dribbled down his chin and dripped onto his shirt, flies swarming around the gunshot wound at the center of his chest. He staggered forward, tripping over the dead body at feet but quickly regaining his balance. Merle kept his milky eyes locked on his baby brother, watching as the young hunter's lips curled and his eyes screwed shut. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't. Merle was...

He tried to keep it in, he really did, but it was no use. The tears burned his eyes and his heart was aching in agony. Merle was gone. He was officially gone this time. There was no chance at coming back. He was dead.

The creature staggered closer. With every step he took forward, Daryl took two back, recoiling as the pain swelled in his chest. His brother was gone, and he was never coming back.

Merle got in too close and Daryl lashed out, shoving him back with all the strength he had. He watched as Merle's bloody lips trembled as he growled, bouncing back and staggering forward for the young hunter again. Daryl quickly wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tried to pull himself together. He couldn't stop though. He couldn't stop the tears from leaking out as his brother drew close. He couldn't stop whimpering at the thought that Merle had left him once again, and there was no way he could come back. He had only just found him after all this time of being separated from each other. And then life decided to be funny and rip his brother away from him. There was so much he didn't get to say to him, and that thought alone made his throat clamp up and his heart race a mile a minute. He barely got to say anything. All he did say was that he just wanted his brother back.

He just wanted his brother back.

Daryl lunged forward and shoved Merle away once more as he got in too close. The creature spun around and stumbled back a little before regaining its footing. He staggered forward towards the hunter once more, and Daryl reached for his buck knife. His breathing grew heavy and ragged as Merle got closer. He had to do it. He just had to. He couldn't leave his brother like this, not like one of _them_.

Merle took one more step forward and Daryl lunged at him, shoving his knife into his brother's shoulder. He listened as Merle let out a gutted grunt, Daryl digging the knife deeper into his shoulder as they both keeled over to the ground. Daryl landed on top and pinned the creature to the ground with one hand, grasping his buck knife tight in the other. He raised his knife high and slammed it down into Merle's skull, yelling as the knife pierced his brother's brain. He raised it high and slammed it down over and over, yelling in complete pain and agony. He didn't stop. He couldn't. His only family was dead. He was alone. There was no time. There never was any time. He hated it. He hated everything, every little thing about this new world. Everyone always died. There was never time. He couldn't hold onto anything anymore, it would just get ripped from him.

It wasn't until the seventh strike or so that Daryl's arm finally gave out and he finally broke down. The corpse under him had long since stopped moving, blood oozing out of his mashed up forehead. It felt like gravity had suddenly crashed down on the young Dixon as he rolled over, falling into the grass and laying there completely numb. He screwed his eyes shut and put his hands to his face, his lungs wrenching and burning as he cried his eyes out.

He couldn't believe he was gone. His mom, his dad, his uncle, and now Merle. He was all alone now. The last man standing.

 

He laid there in the grass, his breathing ragged and unstable as he shuddered and whimpered. He tried calming himself down, listening to the wind as it brushed against the trees and kissed against his moist, heated skin. He had to calm down. He just had to. He needed to breath. He needed to think. Think of anything. Think of the forest. Think of wolves. Think of Kei.

The thought of her struck him like lightning, the hunter snapping open his eyes in realization.

Kei was with Merle.

Merle is dead, but where was Kei?

He sat up straight, scrambling to his feet as he looked every which way. He didn't see her anywhere.

“Kei!” He shouted out, not caring if walkers heard him. He staggered in one direction and then to the other, looking behind empty barrels and old wood piles for his girl, alive or not. He checked buildings around the mill, but only found blood trails and human remains, not reassuring the hunter at all.

“Kei!!” He yelled out, his desperate voice cracking at the same time.

He stepped out of the last building and let out a strained whimper in his throat, all his fears running through his head all at once. She was dead. She got eaten. She turned. The Governor took her. He took her to Woodbury. He was hurting her.

“KEI!!” He shouted out again, sounding a million times more lost than before. Pain and loss was quickly replaced with pure panic and fear. The truth was he was lost. He didn't have his brother, and now he didn't have his girl. He had no one right now, and it was the most terrifying thing in the world.

* * *

Her world shifted and swayed a she stumbled through the woods. Her side burned. Her muscles ached. She felt lightheaded. She stopped at a tree and leaned against it, huffing and gasping as she tried to catch her breath. She looked down at her hand that was latched to her side. Blood was seeping through her fingers and staining her jeans. Damn. She really liked the pair she had on.

She let her head fall back against the trunk of the tree, her eyes shutting for only minute, before the image of the Governor's gun going off flashed across her memory. She had missed her target and he had missed his. Although she had managed to nick his damn neck and ear, The Governor managed to shoot her in the side, which in her mind was the bigger victory. She swore at herself in frustration, if only she had shot him earlier.

She let out a strained whimper as a burst of pain shot up and down her spine. She screwed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, grunting and whimpering. It was getting worse. She had to get back quick. God, going back sounded like the best and worst thing in the world. She would have to tell Daryl what happened to his brother. He sacrificed himself for nothing, and she was too much of a fucking coward to save him.

Tears began to well in her eyes. God, she was such a coward. How could she have just stood there while Merle took everything head on. She should of done something! She should have saved him!

Her legs wobbled before giving out, the girl falling onto her knees as the pain became too much. She let out an agonizing wail and broke down into a sob, not caring if Walkers came running and wanted to rip her apart. She couldn't bear to think about Daryl and how he would react to her chickening out like she did. She could have saved him. She _should_ have saved him.

“Daryl...” She whimpered, choking into a sob as she screwed her eyes shut, “Daryl...”

Another sharp pain ran through her side, causing her to grasp onto her wound and wail in pain. She curled up and continued to sob, crying for Daryl and apologizing over and over. She was a coward. She was weak. She couldn't save Merle, she couldn't stop the Governor, what the hell was she even good for? All she did was get people killed. Lori. Her own family. Merle. She was death. You hung around her and it was sure to come for you.

Heavy footsteps scraped across the forest floor, kicking up leaves and twigs. Kei didn't bother to look. She could hear snarling, knowing full well what that meant. She didn't try to move. She just stared up at the trees, sniffling and whimpering as she tried to think of anything other than what was to come. It was better this way, right? She would die, and Daryl wouldn't be so hell bent on protecting her. Merle was, and he got killed. Her father was, and he got bit. If she lived, Daryl would, and he would get killed. It was better this way.

The snarling grew louder, the ground under her vibrating with every heavy step the creature beside her took. It was better this way, she thought to herself. She clutched onto her side and continued to look up at the sky, whimpering as tears streamed down the sides of her temples. She needed to breath. She needed to think. Think of anything. Think of the forest. Think of wolves. Think of music. Think of Beth's singing, especially that one song she sang around the campfire. God, how did it go...

“ _Go...Go-ood night, a-and joy be with you all_ ,” She chimed, her dry voice shaking and cracking as she heard hissing and snarling. Think of the trees. Think of Daryl. Think of his smile, his eyes, his lips...

“ _Good night...a-and joy...b-be with....”_ She took a shaky breath as the molded face of a walker blocked her vision of the trees and sky. The creature lunged down at her and she let out one final scream, screwing her eyes shut as the walker lunged for the skin on her arm.

Just as the creature grabbed her, something suddenly whizzed past and pierced it's skull, causing it to fly back and hit the forest floor with a loud thud. Kei turned her head sharply and looked at it, a long slender bolt sticking straight out of it's forehead. Her eyes screwed shut and she listened to the sound of rushed footsteps and heavy breathing. She heard someone fall to their knees beside her and felt a pair of calloused hands cup her face.

“Kei!” She heard Daryl's voice crack, “Kei, baby look at me. Look at me! Kei!”

She opened her eyes and stared up into the face of her hunter, his dirty face blurred and distorted through her tears. She heard him whimper and stammer just like her, suddenly feeling his lips pepper her cheeks and forehead with desperate kisses. It made her break down and sob as Daryl frantically tried to calm her. He grabbed his red handkerchief from his back pocket and placed it on her wound, causing her to scream in pain as he put pressure on it. He tried to shush her, telling her that it'd be alright and that he was going to get her home.

Home. Home sounded nice right now.

She whimpered and groaned as she felt herself being lifted off the forest floor. Daryl kept talking to her, telling her to stay focused on him and think of anything. All she could do was stammer and whine as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was in pain - pain from the wound, pain from losing Merle. All she could do for the hunter was mumble a barely audible “I'm sorry” over and over.

Daryl held her close as he rushed through the woods, his girl clutching onto his vest for dear life.

 

She could hear crickets chirping, the trees rustling and whispering as a gentle breeze blew against her sweaty skin. She felt light, yet numb. She couldn't move her body. She couldn't see. She could only listen, listen to everything as the world went on without her.

She could hear Daryl's struggled breathing as he carried her through the woods, the heavy thumping of his boots as he kicked up leaves and twigs.

“Stay with me, honey!” She heard his rough voice call, “Just keep talkin'. Say somethin', tell me anythin'!”

She tried to move her mouth, but her jaw wouldn't respond. She could only let out a small noise, a mix between a whimper and a groan. She could feel Daryl's heart banging against her cheek, his breathing becoming more rushed as he staggered through the woods.

“Don't you die on me,” He warned, “Kei, yer not gonna leave me! Ya hear?!”

She tried clutching onto Daryl's vest to let her know she was there, but her hands and arms felt like lead weights. She was too tired; too tired to talk, to move, to cry from the pain in her side. She just wanted to sleep. Sleep sounded nice.

“Stay awake!” Daryl barked, shaking her lightly, “Listen! Tell me–Tell me 'bout the time you and Sen got lost up in the mountains.”

“ _I've told you that one before_ ,” She thought, “ _Daryl, I'm tired_...”

“Or– Or tell me 'bout Japan,” He said frantically, “Talk 'bout the forests, and the people there. Talk 'bout yer little sister.”

She didn't want to. She didn't want to do any of that. She just wanted to sleep. She just wanted to forget today ever happened.

“Dar...” She let out, making the hunter look down at her as carried her along. He pressed her to keep talking as he turned every which way, trying to find the right path towards home. She moaned something into his chest and before Daryl even got a chance to speak, her head fell back and her eyes stayed shut. Daryl looked down at her in complete shock and tried bobbing up and down, attempting to shake her awake. She didn't make a sound nor move a muscle, and that only made Daryl run faster and hold her tighter, using everything he had to try and get them home.

  


The girl laid there in darkness, not really asleep, not really awake. She could hear people yelling and talking frantically around her, but she couldn't see anything.

“ _GET HERSHEL! HERSHEL!”_

“ _Everyone move! Step aside!”_

“ _Kei, stay awake!”_

“ _We're gonna get you well honey, you need to stay awake,”_

_She felt a cool hand touch her skin, pressing down on her forehead. The voices blurred and switched in and out from time to time, the girl losing track of the conversation as a dull pain in her side started to grow sharp again._

“ _How long's she been like this?!”_

“ _She's lost a lot of blood,”_

“ _Kei?! Sweetheart, what's you're blood type?!”_

“ _She's an O, like me,”_

“ _Sen, we're gonna need you to stick around,”_

“ _Lay her out flat, hurry! On the mattress!”_

“ _Carl go get the towels! Beth, I need my bag!”_

“ _We gotta dig the rest of the bullet out.”_

_Another sharp burst of pain. This one was worse than ever, more than when she got shot in the first place. She felt something sharp digging into her side and it caused her to let out a blood-curdling scream, the girl having no control over her vocal chords or her body. All she knew was that it hurt, and she wanted it to stop. She could feel her body shaking violently, her blood turning to liquid fire. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't open her eyes. She felt sick._

“ _Hold her down! Hold her down!”_

“ _She's hyperventilating,”_

“ _Kei we need you to calm down, honey. Calm down.”_

“ _Girl,”_

Kei opened her eyes. Or at least, she thought she did. Her body was stiff, her vision shaking and the room seeming to shrink. She stared up at Daryl and watched as he pressed his forehead to hers.

“Girl, listen,” He said softly, “Breathe like me, okay?”

He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth. Kei felt his warm breath gently brushing against her sweaty skin, his chest slowly rising and falling against hers. She tried her best to mimic him, taking in shaky breaths through her nose and letting it out through her mouth. She couldn't help but whimper and groan as her side still ached and burned. He ran his hand along her arm in comfort, his lips pressing against her forehead.

“It's gonna be okay,”

He brushed some hair behind her ear and kept his forehead pressed to hers, breathing steadily with her. He felt her breath hitch in her throat and her eyes screwed shut again, a noise escaping her lips as Hershel started working on her again. Her back arched and her body started to shift away from the man, Hershel yelling for the hunter and whoever wasn't busy to hold her down. Sen rushed over and pinned her down by the legs. Daryl hovered over her and pinned her down by the shoulders, keeping his forehead against hers as she cried and squirmed in utter agony. He called to her, telling her to look at him and keep her eyes on his. She didn't listen. She kept her eyes shut, her pale lips pursed into a thin line. Everyone watched in panic and shock as Kei's whole body grew pale and clammy. She shook against Daryl and Sen's hold, groaning and wailing as Hershel dug back into her bloody skin to try and get the bullet out.

 

Daryl kept his eyes on her, watching as her shaky chest rose and fell under a pile of blankets. She was an ungodly shade of white, her skin and hair drenched in sweat. Tears continued to seep from her closed eyes and her body trembled. Hershel had removed the last piece of the bullet and made it clear that she wasn't out of the woods just yet. She would need blood, blankets to keep warm, and lots of fluids to keep hydrated. Sen was more than willing to give up blood, blankets, the moon, the stars, the air in his lungs, whatever she needed. He sat next to Daryl and together they stayed by her side.

Neither of them said a word. They just sat by her bed in grim silence, Sen resting his head on the mattress with a light sigh. Ren and Ame trotted in and rested their heads on the mattress as well. Ame gently nuzzled Kei's sweaty hand and licked it, whimpering lightly in sadness. Daryl reached over and ran a hand through his fur, watching as Kei's eyelids fluttered and her eyes shifted. This was torture seeing her like this. He could still hear her painful cries in the woods. Seeing her laying there, all bloody with a Walker gripping onto her arm; He had never been so terrified in his entire life. And the way she screamed, how she cried and apologized to him over and over in the woods.  

This really was torture.

He had already lost his brother today, he couldn't bear thinking of losing his girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently debating if I wanna do a sequel with season 4. thoughts anyone? ideas? I'd love to hear it.  
> Enjoy, cuties! xx


	37. Welcome to the Tombs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She stared over at him, her bottom lip curling in as he gently cupped her face and held her there.
> 
> “You and I are gonna kill him,” He promised, his voice firm yet assuring, “Alright? You and me, together.”

_New york sounded good. She always liked New York._ _Her middle school choir used to take field trips up there to compete with other schools around the U.S. She liked it there._ _She liked the crowds, the fast pace, the grittiness of it all. She could live in New York._

[ _ She _ ](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=98761323) _flipped the pages of her magazine, staring at all the pretty, big eyed, full lipped models that posed and stared back at her. She found it oddly relaxing, even with all the background noise coming from fellow travelers walking from all directions. Her ears perked up as she heard a warm and welcoming voice chirp from the speakers:_

“ _Flight 297B to LaGuardia will be arriving shortly. Flight 297B to LaGuardia will be arriving shortly. Thank you for choosing American Airlines.”_

_Someone took a seat next to her. A woman with dark skin, long braids, and legs that seemed to go on forever. Kei contiued to flip pages and look through all the cocktail dresses and high heels. Sequins seemed to be the big thing this year._

“ _You’re a tough one to find,” The woman next to her said. The girl flipped a page. Givenchy had some cute ankle boots too._  
  
“I wasn’t hiding,” She replied simply, “You weren’t looking hard enough.”

“ _I trust you had fun?” Warden Stiles asked, watching as the 16 year old's lips flashed a smirk._

“ _Tons.”_

“ _Anyone onto you?” The warden asked._

“ _No,” Kei answered plainly, “And they won’t be. I was thorough…and Sarah?”_

“ _Aimee now,” The Warden corrected, putting the coffee cup in her hand to her lips, “She’s fine, we’re setting her up with some good people. Most of them shrinks. Let’s just hope we do right by this one.”_

_Kei smirked. “Don’t want another psycho on your hands?”_

“ _I don’t want another revenge-seeking vigilante on my hands,” The woman corrected, scoffing lightly as she took a sip of her drink. She handed the cup over to Kei and the girl took a hearty gulp. The warden watched her, her dark eyes wavering and her bottom lip curling in anxiousness._

“ _You know I have to take you in,” She remarked. Kei handed the cup back and went back to looking at her magazine._

“ _And if I get on the plane?”_

“ _You won't,” The woman stated simply._

_Kei looked up from her fashion article and over towards the Cinnabon across the terminal._

“ _I see you brought Bradshaw and Miller with you,” She remarked, taking note of the two men over by the food stand looking over at her from time to time, “That means Rhodes and Duffy are here too.”_

“ _It's just protocol,” The warden assured, “We got word that you could be potentially armed and dangerous..."_

_"I'm not armed," The girl replied.  
_

_"But you are dangerous," The warden remarked..._

 

“She ain't wakin' up,” Daryl's rough voice spoke out. 

“It's only been a day,” Hershel's voice chimed, the man placing his hand gently on her forehead, “Her breathin's steady, and no fever. It's a miracle she even made it given all the blood she lost.” 

Daryl ran a hand through his damp hair, his other holding Kei's hand loosely. His jaw bobbed as he watched her eyes flutter behind her lids. He just wanted her to wake up. He'd been up all night, blowing off everyone who came in and tried to get him to sleep. He couldn't sleep, not while his girl was like this. After what happened with Hershel when he was injured, he was worried she would stop breathing in her sleep. He needed to stay awake. 

“She's not going anywhere, Daryl,” Hershel spoke, as if reading his thoughts, “The worst part is over. Her body needs to do the rest of the work.” 

The hunter perked up when he heard Kei let out a breathy sigh, her eyes still closed. Her lips twitched a little before she went back to lying stll, her breathing steady and quiet. Daryl's thumb went to his lips and he chewed on the nail.

“Hate seein' her like this...” He muttered. The old farmer's eyes fell to the girl laying on her mattress.

“We all do,” He replied honestly, “It never gets any easier...” 

Daryl nodded lightly, his eyes glued to the girl in front of him. He just wanted her to open her eyes, to mutter, to squeeze his hand, anything to show she was responding and that she would be okay. He hated waiting. He hated seeing her like this, just waiting for her to either wake up or slip away. 

He turned his head when he saw Hershel hunch over his chair. He leaned closer to Kei, his eyes focused on her.

“Kei,” He called quietly, “Kei, if you can hear me, squeeze Daryl's hand.” 

The hunter stared down at their hands intently, eyes bearing into her fingers, waiting for them to make a move. They didn't, and that made Daryl's stomach drop. It was only after a minute or so that Hershel tried again,

“Kei, I need you to squeeze Daryl's hand,” He instructed, “Come on honey.” 

Another minute passed. The hunter was starting to lose hope, but then his heart seemed to skip a beat when he felt nimble fingers twitch in his hand. She had only managed to give a little pressure, but it was enough to make Daryl lean over and stare down at her face intently. 

“She did it,” He spoke out, his face lighting up instantly. He re-gripped her hand and pressed his lips to her forehead, gently peppering the skin with light kisses.

“That's it girl, squeeze my hand,” He muttered, kissing her cheek as she took in a ragged breath. She let it out in a shaky sigh, and the smile on Daryl's face grew as he felt an even stronger squeeze in response.

“She can hear us,” He spoke, his voice cracking a little as he let out a faint laugh. He kissed Kei's forehead and looked over to Hershel, the thankfulness clear on his face. The older farmer gave him a warm smile and nodded, the two of them sitting by Kei's side for the rest of the morning. 

  
  


It wasn't until around noon or so that Kei finally opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, her eyes trying to adjust to the sunlight that seemed to brighten the whole cell. She squirmed around in her pile of blankets, the heat making her sweat through her clothes and feel extremely uncomfortable. She let out a strained groan through her dry throat as she moved, her side aching along with her muscles. God, how long was she out?

She slowly turned her head and her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Daryl was laying down next her on the floor, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. He had curled up beside her on the mattress, his hands tucked under his whiskery cheek as he slept. The afternoon sun was streaming down on his face, but it didn't seem to effect him or his sleeping. He was out like a light, the poor guy. 

Kei turned her head back and looked up at the dirty ceiling, trying to swallow but with not without a shot of pain. She shifted uncomfortably and whimpered before letting out a cough . God, she felt like she was in the desert. She was burning up under the mound of blankets, and she was thirsty beyond belief. She needed water and air, stat.

“Da...” She let out another cough again, this one making her throat sting, and causing Daryl's eyes to snap open. He looked over at his girl as she coughed and screwed her eyes shut, shifting and attempting to writhe around under her blankets. The hunter quickly sat up and hovered over her, watching as she coughed up a storm.

“Kei?! Kei, you okay?!” 

Kei looked up through her teary eyes and saw the frantic look on his face. Her coughing quickly melded into an odd mix of laughing and choking. One side of his hair stuck out in different directions. It was actually kind of cute, and kind of hilarious. Daryl gently rubbed her arms in comfort before turning around and scurrying to the end of the matress. He came back into her vision with a bottle of water in his hands. 

“Here,” He said quickly, gently holding her head with one hand and putting the bottle to her lips with the other.

“Just sip it, alright?” He spoke, “Don't want ya gettin' sick.” 

She took small, careful sips as the cool liquid washed over her tongue and quenched her dry throat. After a few sips he carefully set the bottle down beside him and continued to look down at her. He gently held her head and ran his thumbs over her cheeks, watching as she coughed and cleared her throat with ease. 

“How ya feelin'?” He asked, his stormy eyes wandering over her in worry. She looked up at him with a tired smile and gently placed a hand over his, relishing in the feel of his palm pressed to her cheek. 

“Fine,” She answered, her voice meek, and still a little hoarse. She looked up for a minute before closing her eyes again and yelping, Daryl leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. He tried to be gentle about it, but he was so worried, so scared that he would've lost her, he couldn't help but be excited when she woke him up. He pecked her lips and cheeks over and over, the sensation making the girl giggle before coughing lightly. He broke away to let her cough and get some air in her lungs. 

Just then, the sound of claws scraping against concrete came from outside. Ren and Ame darted into the cell, tails whipping every which way as they whimpered and barked, running over to Daryl in excitement and attempted to leap over him. Kei let out a yelp and Daryl had to shield her from them leaping onto her injured side. Ame jumped up and down while Ren scurried over to the other side of the mattress. The red wolf immediately shoved her face into Kei's, covering her in sloppy licks and kisses. Kei closed her eyes and scrunched up her face with a laugh, turning her head away as Daryl reached over and nudged Ren away.

“Ren! Sit!” He called, nudging the red wolf away as she tried to lunge for Kei's face again, “Jesus, they're fuckin' nuts for ya.” 

“They're my babies, they missed me,” Kei giggled, turning her head to face her wolf with a smile. Ren fidgeted and whimpered and once more lunged for her in excitement. This time Ame joined in and the hunter could do nothing to stop them. The two of them went for it and began licking Kei's face again, Daryl doing everything to shove them away to give her some air. He finally called for some help and the whole group responded, everyone crowding around Kei's cell to see what all the commotion was. Carl rushed in and helped with Ame while Daryl dealt with Ren, the two trying their best to keep the wolves calm and prevent them from unintentionally hurting Kei. The girl wiped her face and giggled at her pets as they were instructed to lay down and stay quiet. Carl sat down at their side and gently ran his hands through their fur, looking over at Kei in slight worry.

“Are you okay?” 

She nodded lightly, and then turned her head as Beth and Sen rushed to her side next to Daryl.

“Kei,” Beth chirped with a cheery smile, taking her hand and gripping it. Kei smiled back and let out a hoarse “Hi, sweetie.” her heart seeming to shine and swell at the sight of the blonde girl's smile. Sometimes that girl really was a ray of sunshine, and she couldn't help but feel better around her. 

“You freaking scared me back there, man,” Sen admitted, letting out a sigh of relief, “Thank God you're okay.” 

Kei flashed a smile at her best friend before looking towards the rest of her group. Everyone was here; Rick, Glenn and Maggie, Hershel, Michonne, Carol. Everyone was alive and okay. Did that mean...

“The Governor,” She let out, turning her head to look at Daryl, “Did he...?”

Everyone stayed silent. Daryl's eyes fell for a moment and his lips pursed to a thin line. He shook his head lightly. 

“Not–”

“You don't worry about that know,” Rick interrupted, “Right now you need water, rest. We can talk about that later.” 

Kei looked to her leader and could see it clear on his face. The Governor hadn't come yet. She knew she didn't kill him, and the place was still in tact, which meant that the war was still on. They weren't out of the woods just yet, if at all.

“We'll let you rest,” Hershel spoke, breaking up the tension that seemed to swell in the air, “All of us.” 

He pointed those words over to Daryl and the hunter merely let out a “hm.” in response. The old farmer told Daryl that he could help her out of the blankets, give her some water, and then he had to let her sleep. The man had to rest himself, he had been up for almost two days.

“Two days?” Kei muttered, her eyebrows raising utter surprise. Daryl's jaw bobbed as he removed the last of the blankets and his eyes fell to the mattress.

“Had to make sure you were okay,” He mumbled, resting his head down next to hers. Kei really wanted to move on her side to fully look at him, but that was just asking to be in for a world of hurt. She closed her eyes and huffed, opening them again when she felt a pair of lips touch her temple. Daryl scooted in close and slung an arm over her waist, careful to avoid her bandages. He gently held her and pressed his lips to the side of her head. 

“I thought I lost ya...” He muttered, “Out in the woods, when...”

The memory of Merle falling dead to the floor flashed cross the girl's mind. Her throat clamped up, and her stomach twisted in knots. She could still hear the echo of the gunshot, and the sound he made when it pierced his chest. 

Her hand latched onto Daryl's arm and she screwed her eyes shut, trying her hardest to keep the tears from spilling out. Daryl noticed the pained look on her face and panic instantly settled in. He held her as close as he could and tried to calm her down, whispering that he was sorry, but it was no use. Kei just shook her head and quietly cried that she was sorry; sorry that she didn't save Merle, that she didn't kill the Governor when she had the chance. If she did, his brother would still be alive. 

“We don't know that,” She heard Daryl say, making her look up at him with furrowed brows, “We don't. You were out-manned and out-gunned. If ya killed him, the rest of his guys would've come in and shot ya both dead.” 

Kei sniffled a little and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Her teary eyes fell to the mattress for a moment as she thought about it. There was a lot going on. If the Governor's men didn't get to them, the walkers sure would have. There was so many of them...

“Hey,” She heard Daryl rasp, making her eyes flick up towards his. She stared over at him, her bottom lip curling in as he gently cupped her face and held her there.

“You and I are gonna kill him,” He promised, his voice firm yet assuring, “Alright? You and me, together.” 

A few spare tears managed to slip past her eyes and slide down her cheek, the hunter swiping them away with his thumb. She gave him a small nod and turned to lean in, not caring about the pain in her side as she did it. She cupped Daryl's face and pressed her lips to his, showering him with desperate little kisses on his lips and cheeks. Daryl made a noise in his throat and gently nudged her away, trying to get her to lay back down flat so she wouldn't hurt herself. As he sat up and got her to lay on her back, she kept leaning up to peck his lips like a little bird. It felt like her heart had started up again. She couldn't believe she thought about giving up, about leaving Daryl, and Sen, and the rest of her group here. They were family, and they were worth everything she went through. Daryl and the others went through hell to save her, so she was clearly worth something to them too. 

  
  


“Glenn and Maggie are gonna take the cat walk,” Rick instructed, pointing on the hand drawn map placed on Kei's lap, “You, Hershel, and Carl are gonna hide in the woods over here, outside the fences. Beth and Judith too.”

Kei followed Rick's finger as he pointed to various spots across the map, her mind trying to process the plan he had in mind. 

“Carol and Michonne are gonna take the courtyard while Daryl and I got the tombs.”

“I'm gonna take the lower courtyard by the entrance,” [Sen ](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=89250245&lid=1950767)chimed in, “While everyone's inside, I'm gonna jam the guns on the truck. Keep them from doing any more damage when all hell breaks loose.”

“Rick and I are gonna hide in the tombs,” Daryl explained, pointing to the hall where they would be waiting, “When they're close enough, we're gonna unleash all we got. Flash bangs, smoke grenades, gunfire...”

“Scare 'em right off the property,” Rick finished, looking over to the dark haired girl firmly, “You understand?”

Kei kept her eyes on the hand drawn hallway. She didn't like the idea of Daryl and Rick being in such a narrow space against practically all of Woodbury. It was a huge risk, and if Woodbury was ruthless enough, they could just stay in the tombs and pin them down. 

“...Alright,” She sighed.

“Alright?” Rick quoted, watching as Kei gave him a quiet nod, “Good. Daryl will help you pack. We take positions in an hour.” 

Kei shut her eyes as Rick and Sen stood to their feet and exited the cell. She took in a shaky breath. So soon. She had only woken up a day ago and already it was time. 

She suddenly felt a body lean against hers. Kei tilted her head and let it fall into Daryl's chest, two strong arms wrapping around her. 

“S'gonna be fine,” The guy next to her assured, “You and I are gonna beat 'em.”

“You mean _you_ are,” She corrected, her tone slightly bitter, “I'm on the sidelines, remember?” 

“Yer hurt,” Daryl remarked, leaning down and pressing his lips against her head, “'Sides, I'd rather you be alive on the sidelines than dead in the cross fire.” 

“The same for you,” The girl spoke out, tilting her head up to look at him, “I don't like that it's just you and Rick in there against The Governor and his guys. You saw what happened with just Merle and I. I don't–”

The thought of Daryl not coming out of it alive made her stomach twist and her heart ache. It made her eyes and throat start to sting.

“...I don't want lose you either,” She murmured, screwing her eyes shut as she buried her face in her boyfriend's shirt. Daryl held her there for a moment and gently rubbed her back. She clutched onto his shirt and prayed for dear life that her hunter would be okay. She prayed that everyone would be okay, and that they would all overcome this. 

“Hey,” She heard Daryl speak out, gently nudging her away so he could look at her properly. She sat straight up and wiped her eyes, looking directly into Daryl's stormy blues. 

“What'd I say to ya yesterday?” He asked her, “What'd I say we'd do?”

The girl wiped her nose and sniffled,

“We'd kill him,” She answered.

“How?” He asked, watching as her expression softened after a minute of thought.

“Together,” She answered, her hunter giving her a small nod.

“And what's that mean?”

Kei looked down at Daryl's hand and took it in her own, holding it tight,

“That you and I are gonna make it,”

Daryl nodded lightly to her and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers,

“You and I are gonna make it,” He repeated.

  
  


Daryl helped Kei get [dressed](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=88503697&lid=1950767) and pack up her things. They gathered everything, doing everything they could from rolling up blankets to stuffing things in duffel bags. Kei gathered up her weapons and limped along, latching onto Daryl as he helped her down the steps and out to the courtyard. She looked around and saw everyone hard at work. Rick and Glenn were checking the cars while Beth, Carol, and Maggie started filling the Hyundai with supplies. Michonne worked with the silver truck while Hershel and Sen worked on filling up the Chevy. The fact that everyone was preparing for the alternative only settled Kei's nerves a little. She still found herself trying to ingrain everyone's image in her memory, because the fact still loomed over her like a dark cloud: this could potentially be their last time together. No one truly knew the outcome of this fight. This could be the last time she saw any of them.

Kei set her bags down at the trunk of the red Chevy and Sen picked them up, tossing them carelessly inside.

“Jesus, man,” Kei scoffed, flinching as her bags hit against the other supplies with a clang, “Careful with my things!” 

“Sorry _mommy_ ,” Sen cooed, smirking with an unlit cigarette between his teeth. He let out a laugh as Kei playfully punched his arm, nudging him aside so she could place her backpack inside. He watched her carefully as she stuffed her backpack against his, letting out a huff and rubbing her forehead. She was still tired, he could tell. 

“You gonna be alright?” He asked, watching as a tired smile flashed across her face.

“Yeah,” She spoke quietly, looking over at her best friend, “Are you?” 

Sen flashed her a crooked smirk and scoffed.

“The hell kind of question is that,” He chuckled, gently nudging her arm with his elbow,“Of course I'll be fine! Five bucks says I can jam all the guns in 15.”

“Do it in 10 and I'll cook you breakfast,” Kei offered.

“Rice balls?” Sen asked, his eyebrows raising with his smirk.

“With tuna filling,” She finished, earning a 'fuck yeah!' and a firm kiss on the cheek from her friend. She scrunched up her nose and nudged him away, chuckling lightly as he leaned in and ruffled her hair. Their brief period of laughter quickly faded as Carl got between them, a dark vibe practically radiating from him as he shoved his bag in the back. He threw a bag full of Judith's things in there as well and walked right past Sen and Kei, not bothering to acknowledge either of them or their stares. 

Kei watched as he stomped away past his father, and back into the cell block. Looking around, she noticed that Carl wasn't the only one who was upset. Everyone was. They all had such solemn looks on their faces, and just like that her worries came back, clinging onto her thoughts. Her heart thumped against her ribcage while her stomach twisted in knots. This was really happening. They were planning to fight, to leave, to die. There was a chance that they could lose, and a chance that she could lose everyone in this fight. 

Sen's hand firmly placed itself on her shoulder, gently gripping it in comfort. Kei looked at it and the small tattoo that resided on the knuckle of his ring finger. 

_**Leap.** _

“We'll be fine, alright?” He gave her a small smile and jerked his head in Daryl's direction, “Go on and check on your boy. He looks like he wants to rip my head off.”

Kei looked over to Daryl and sure enough, his eyes were narrowed over at Sen. He sat cross-legged on the pavement beside his bike, inspecting his bolts and arrows and placing them in his backpack. When Kei made her way over to him, he was setting his bag aside and inspecting his poncho, picking at the loose strands.

“You alright?” She asked, looking down at the hunter. Daryl looked up at her before looking back down at his poncho and nodding. 

“Fine,” He muttered, “It's just...Merle never did nothin' like that his whole life, you know?” 

The gunshot flashed across her mind and she quickly closed her eyes. She took a small breath through her nose and opened them again. She looked down at Daryl thoughtfully, her lips stretching to a thin line.

“Well...he gave us a chance,” She replied honestly, holding her hand out for him to take. Daryl looked up at her with a whiskery half smile and nodded, gently taking her hand and holding it as he lifted himself up. She never let go and smiled as he stepped closer to her, leaning in and wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into his broad frame and nestled into his chest, taking his scent and warmth and making a permanent memory in her heart. She silently prayed that this wouldn't be their last hug, nor would it be the last time she saw him. She prayed the same for everyone. She didn't want to lose any one of them. 

The girl suddenly perked up when Daryl took a step back. He held out his poncho and carefully placed it over her, smirking at just how big it was on her. Kei looked down at the fabric before looking over at Daryl in slight confusion. This thing was his absolute favorite, next to his brother's bike of course. 

She watched as Daryl's jaw bobbed and his eyes fluttered over the bright patterns and ugly overstitching he spent all winter trying to do. He thought it looked good on her.

“To keep ya warm,” He muttered, looking down at his girl's worried eyes. Her lips curled inward as she struggled to nod and agree with him, even though the both of them knew what it really was for. It was both a promise, and to an extension, his goodbye present if it all went south.

She leaned into Daryl's frame once more and he held her tighter than ever, the both of them soaking up as much of each other as they could before it was officially time.

  
  


“...I never thanked you,” Michonne spoke, steadily walking alongside Rick as they both headed for the cell block's exit. The leader looked over to her quizzically as they entered the security wing, shutting the cell block door behind him,

“For what?”

“For getting me out there that day,” The woman answered slowly, stopping to face him completely, “Taking me in...”

Rick's lips twisted into a faint smirk as he looked to the floor before looking at her,

“Well if you didn't have that baby formula, I wouldn't have,” He answered.

“You could have just taken the formula,” She remarked, a similar smirk on her lips as well. Rick paused for a moment before shrugging and shaking his head.

“Well...”He mused, “Must've been somethin' else then...”

A faint smile stretched across Michonne's face, the woman watching as Rick looked around for a minute.

“You know, it was Carl who made the call,” He mentioned thoughtfully, his bright blues staring over at her dark browns, “He said you belonged here...yer one of us...”

Michonne stared over at him in silence for a minute before slipping past and walking on towards the exit. Rick turned his head and watched her before a stifled giggle echoed in the air.

“Jesus, get a room why don't you,” Sen scoffed out, watching as Rick swore and whipped around in shock. He stared up at the balcony, Sen resting his elbows on the rails with an unlit cigarette hanging lazily out of his mouth. He smirked down at the leader and his wide-eyed expression, shaking his head. 

“Or better yet a cold shower,” He teased, smiling just as Rick smiled and shook his head.

“Shut up,” He scoffed firmly, looking back up at the lithe Asian with raised brows, “You ready?”

Sen pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and nodded, “ _Oui.”_

Rick nodded his head and pointed towards the exit.

“Alright, head out to the woods by tower three and keep low,” He instructed, “Be safe out there.”

“Like-wise,” The man chirped, pushing off the rails and turning towards the exit behind him. 

“I mean it, Sen!” Rick called. The young adult simply gave him a thumbs up before opening the door and disappearing into the daylight.

  
  


Kei carefully trudged through the woods, following Ren and Ame as they trotted along on point to look out for any danger. Carl followed close beside her, looking around carefully for any Woodbury soldiers who might be lurking. Hershel placed the last bundle of branches over the hood of the hyundai, spreading them across to complete their camouflage of leaves and whole branches. Beth stayed hidden behind the car, holding a bundled up Judith close to her chest. 

“I still think we should be over there,” Carl mumbled bitterly, looking over at the prison through the trees, “We should be out there helping Glenn and Maggie on the catwalk. Or my dad and Daryl in the tombs.”

The thought of Daryl and Rick alone like that against all of woodbury made Kei's stomach ache again. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath through her nose, trying to remind herself that Daryl and Rick were going to be okay. They were all going to be okay.

“I know,” She spoke honestly, letting out a shaky sigh, “But Rick gave us specific instructions: stay low and protect Judith.”

Carl's blue-green eyes stared up at Kei's coal blacks and could see the conflict behind them. He could tell she wanted to be there as much as he did, and maybe she would if he persisted enough. He knew that if Kei put her mind to it, she could take down anyone and anything. He heard about how she took out those two guys at Woodbury, and that was with just a hair pin. She had her sword and her arrows now. She and him could take them all out. 

“We should go,” He spoke out, earning a confused look from the girl.

“You and me,” He proclaimed, “We should go over there and help!”

Kei reached out to him and shook her head, “Carl--”

“No! We should be out there!” The 13 year old snapped, swatting her hand away, “Why the hell are we all just sitting here being useless?!”

“Carl! We can't go out there!” Hershel hissed.

“And why not?!” The boy barked, his voice even louder than before.

“Because we have a newborn and two injured already!” Kei bit, a sharp pain shooting up in her side. She put a hand over her bandage and grit her teeth, swearing under her breath at the pain.

“You want us to go in there with guns blazing,” She grunted, “Did you forget that Hershel lost his leg? And that I got shot two days ago? He and I can still shoot, sure, but if it got too hairy, neither of us could run...”

She looked down at the boy and watched as his lips pursed in bitterness. She could tell he was holding back, struggling to keep from yelling and going off on her right then and there. Her lips curled and she stared at him firmly, thinking back to the little kid who trained with her in the woods back at Hershel's farm.

“What is rectitude?” She asked suddenly, earning an odd look from Hershel and a 

“Carl, what is rectitude?” She repeated, her tone strict and firm. Carl's head hung slightly, the brim of his father's hat covering his eyes.

“A virtue of _bushido_ ,” He answered lowly. Good. He remembered.

“And what is it?” She asked, eyeing the young boy intently as his own eyes fell to the dirt floor.

“The...power of deciding on a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering,” He answered, “Like striking when the time is right.”

“And what is self control,” She asked him.

“It's another virtue,” He mumbled slowly, “About controlling your impulses...”

Kei reached over and gently tipped up the boy's hat, revealing his big blue eyes to the girl. She could see the fire and the conflict raging behind them. She knew he just wanted to protect everyone, to do what he thought he thought was right; but he was still young, and still needed to clear his head.

“We need you here, Carl,” She replied softly, “We need you here, and we need you to keep calm. Can you do that?” 

The young boy let out a small sigh in defeat before nodding lightly. A warm smile stretched across Kei's lips before falling at an instant. An incredibly loud explosion sounded through the air, making everyone jump and turn towards the prison. The top of Guard tower three suddenly burst, glass and stone shooting out everywhere and landing onto the courtyard. Kei watched with wide eyes as several cars and trucks rolled through and began shelling out gunfire onto the courtyard. Walkers were being torn to shreds by the surprise attack, they didn't even have a chance to turn around before their chests bursts and their heads were blown off their bodies. 

Kei put an arm around Carl and held him close as another Guard tower exploded. They stood there frozen and watched from afar as Woodbury ravaged through their home once again.

  
  


Sen watched from the bushes as everyone he knew fired upon all the walkers in the courtyard. He saw Shupert firing at the prison with the big machine gun on the Technical. The guy couldn't help but smirk as the driver rolled the thing right onto one of the tire strips. Dumbass.

Still, Shupert continued to fire at the prison, and Sen couldn't help but feel a small pang of worry in his chest. Of course he knew the plan, and everyone's position by heart, but he still couldn't help but pray that everyone was still okay inside.

Woodbury's own began pooling out of their vehicles, following behind a military truck as it barreled up the gravel path and smashed down the gate. As the group began making their way into the upper courtyard, Sen took a deep breath and rubbed his sweaty forehead.

“Okay, pull yourself together,” He chanted, “Come on, come on, come on.”

He took a few rapid short breaths through his nose before bolting forward out of the woods. He gripped his bo staff tight and swung it to the side, smacking it into an oncoming walker's head. His legs kept thumping across the grass as he crouched down, keeping his body low as best as he could. Once he approached the Technical, he pressed his back up against the trunk, carefully peeking over and around to make sure no living enemies were near. They had all gone up to the cell block, and most likely were inside scoping the place. Still, Sen kept his body low as he carefully crawled over the trunk and slid his way onto the truck bed. He looked over at his watch momentarily, and then over to the giant machine gun attachment. He had approximately 8 minutes to try and make sure that thing would never fire a bullet. Simple enough, right? 

He remained hunched over as he stood up and got to work on the machine gun. He tried to think back on all those times his older brother would brag and gush over the weaponry he got to handle while being on the base in Okinawa. Personally Sen had never truly cared up until this point. All that time on the gun range with him and his meat-head Army comrades, talking about guns like a bunch of 12 year olds with playboys. He remembered one of them talking about the slide a lot. 

“Check the slide,” He thought rapidly to himself, “Take out pins of some kind. Jam whatever the hell you can.” 

The boy took of his gloves with shaking hands and quickly got to work. He had only precious little time, because once Rick gave off the signal, all hell was certain to break loose.

  
  


Kei listened from afar as gunshots popped off in the air. The prison alarms blared and she could see little dots scattering from the prison like ants from an ant hill. Beth huddled close to her father and Ren, the three of them crouched low beside the car. Kei stood next to Carl and Ame, the 13 year old staring over at the prison with curled lips and bitter eyes.

“We should be there,” He growled. Kei looked down at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping it in comfort as they watched chaos break out at their home. Woodbury survivors raced down the graveled path and began scurrying to their vehicles like frantic mice, jumping into their cars and starting their engines. Kei watched as the large army truck filled with civilians barreled out of the gates first, disappearing into the trees and off down the road. One by one the enemy's cars circled out of the prison yard, including the Governor's white truck.

The alarms shut off and the mass gunfire had officially ceased. Kei and Carl stared over at the road closely, watching, waiting for a military truck to come back barreling through, ready for round two. A couple minutes or so had passed and there were no signs of Woodbury's retaliation. A smile crept onto Kei's face, her heart starting up at the realization.

“I think we drove them out,” She breathed, her smile widening, “I think we did it!” 

Beth let out an audible “Thank god,” and stood back up, bouncing a sleeping Judith in her arms. Hershel got up as well to slightly stretch his good leg.

“We better start heading back,” He spoke out, “Walkers are gonna start pilin' in here soon enough,” 

Kei nodded lightly and turned to help him clear off the camouflage on their car. She started swiping off a pile of leaves when Ren and Ame suddenly perked up and started snarling. The sound of hurried footsteps from heavy boots was headed in their direction. Kei turned around quickly as Carl jumped forward and held his gun out, stopping a young boy with a shotgun right where he stood. The kid looked no older than 16 or 17, his dirty face almost white as a sheet with the horror he had just witnessed back at the prison. He held his hand out towards Hershel and Carl, the two of them having their guns pointed right at him.

“Whoa whoa woah!” The woodbury boy let out, “Don't shoot!” 

“Drop the weapon, son,” Hershel warned firmly. The boy nodded his head rapidly, his eyes wide as tennis balls as he held out his rifle. Ame bared his teeth and snarled violently at the boy, staring at him intently as he slowly inched the rifle over towards Carl.

“S-Sure,” The stranger let out, “Here. Take it.” 

The boy looked more than willing to give up his gun. He held it out to Carl and stared at him, waiting for him to take it from is hand. Kei looked down at the 13 year old and saw conflict on his face. He looked torn, almost hesitant about something as the boy continued to hand his gun over. Still, Carl wouldn't take it. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but instead yelped when a bullet flew out of Carl's gun. It went straight through the boy's right eye and he jolted back, falling dead onto the forest floor with a soft thud. 

Hershel, Kei, and Beth stared over at the leader's son in complete shock. None of them said a word as he simply stared down at the body, shock seeming to barely effect him as he put his gun back into his holster.

  
  


Kei stared at the back of the boy's head the entire time as they walked across the courtyard. No one said a word. What was there to say to him? What could they do? A slew of thoughts piled up into the girl's head. The kid was losing himself. He was becoming cold. What he did to that kid back there, his reasoning behind it, she couldn't help but think of Shane. What he did to that kid back there was something she could only see Shane doing. Not Rick's best friend of course–the animal-like survivor that took over in the end. 

Kei stared at the back of the boy's head as they reached the steps to the cell block.

She would have to talk to him.

Hell, Rick would have to talk to him. This was getting out of hand. Not even that. It was getting scary. 

  
The girl seemed to let go of the breath she was holding onto as she stepped back into the cell block. Seeing everyone again as they brought supplies back in caused a wave of relief to wash over her. Sen was the first to give her a careful hug before ruffling her hai and going out to the hyundai. Rick walked past as well and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking over to Beth and Judith. Carol and Maggie gave her small hugs while Glenn and Michonne gave her light smiles and nods. Kei made a straight beeline towards her hunter and practically knocked him over as she went straight into his arms. Daryl quickly regained his footing and held her close, placing a hand on her head and practically petting her as she nuzzled into his jacket. 

“You're safe,” She let out, her voice muffled by his clothing.

“Told ya,” He spoke, earning a small laugh from the girl in his arms. She looked up at him with a warm smile and closed her eyes as he pecked her on the lips. Afterward, he broke away from her embrace and helped her grab her stuff, bringing it back to their cell and setting it in the corner. He helped her peel out of her jacket and boots, setting them aside as she laid down on the mattress with a heavy sigh.

“I'm goin' to Woodbury,” He mumbled, flinching as Kei's head whipped up so fast, it almost made his head spin.

“What?” 

“We're going there to finish it,” He explained. Kei's eyes widened and her mouth parted in slight disbelief. She could see it in his eyes. He was actually planning to leave without her.

“I'm going too then!” She spoke out, quickly tossing the blankets off. Daryl put his hands on her shoulders and held her there with a firm “No”, keeping her rooted to where she sat.

“You ain't healthy enough to fight,” He rasped. Her bony hands went to his wrists as she tried to pull them off.

“That's bullshit, I'm going!”

“You ain't!” He bit, holding her there firmly,“Yer stayin' here and yer restin'.”

Kei wriggled out of his grip and let out a gasp at the sharp pain in her side when she twisted. She keeled over on the mattress and face planted into the pillows, her hand protectively hovering over the bandage. She let out a grunt and whined something through the pillow that Daryl couldn't hear. The hunter sat down and leaned in close, listening to her as she continued to rant through the cushion.

“ _umphay..._ ” She mumbled. Daryl's eyebrows knitted together,

“Wha?” 

“... _okay._..” she mumbled again defeatedly. The hunter watched as she kept her face buried into the pillow. He chewed on his lip a little and laid down next to her, scooting into her frame and placing his hand over hers on her side. He pressed his forehead against the space between her shoulder blades and let out sigh, his breath tingling her skin. 

“Know I said we'd get him together...” He admitted, “...Truth is...I don't want him anywhere near ya.” 

His eyes flitted over her tattoo, the dragon's long neck curving over and peeking out from behind the straps of her bra. His hand left hers and gently traced over the inked skin on her shoulder, her skin growing goosebumps under his touch.

“He's hurt ya too many times to even have the right to look at ya,” His gravelly voice muttered. Kei closed her eyes, shuddering under his touch as he kissed her shoulder. She screwed them shut tight and prayed that he'd be okay; that he and Rick and Michonne would come back to them in one piece. 

Daryl slung his arm back over her and held her close, kissing the tattoo on her shoulder and muttering that he'd come back. 

“Daryl,” He heard her mutter suddenly. The hunter felt her shift in his arms and he loosened his embrace, watching as she turned her head slightly,

“...Make him suffer for me,”

  
  



	38. Welcome to the Tombs pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is everything good?” He heard Kei ask, her eyes never leaving the fence.
> 
> The boy turned his head and stared over at his best friend of 12 years, the smile on his face light as he nodded. He stared back out at the devastated courtyard, his hand never leaving hers.
> 
> “Everything's good,”

Kei watched from the catwalk as Sen and Michonne loaded up the silver Dodge below. Rick was talking to Carl over by the bleachers while Carol and Beth attempted to clear the gate of Walkers. She stared at them all as they huddled around and went over the plan. Sen, Michonne, Rick, and Daryl were planning to go. Beth, Carol, Glenn, and Maggie decided to stay in case The Governor came back. The girl's grip on the chain-link fence grew tight as she watched the group break up and everyone head to their positions. Rick, Sen, and Michonne took the truck, Daryl got on his bike. She stared at the back of his head with solemn eyes as he threw his leg over his vehicle. Her eyes flitted down to the seat behind his, now occupied with an overnight bag instead of her. She looked back over to Daryl and saw him looking right at her, nodding lightly as she gave him a small wave. He turned back around and revved his engine as Rick started up the truck.

Beth and Carol stood by the gate and got rid of the two Walkers crowding along the fence. Maggie and Glenn lifted up the broken fencing and and staggered back, pulling it open for the others to get through. Daryl kicked his bike in gear and sped past them, the silver Dodge not too far behind. 

Kei watched as her hunter sped through the prison yard and out onto the open road, disappearing behind the trees. She listened as the roar of their engines became mere echos on the wind, disappearing behind all the hisses and groans from walkers still lingering around the lower courtyard. 

Kei sat up in bed and picked at the bits of tuna and corn in her bowl. Ren laid down peacefully beside her with her head in the girl's lap. Carl laid down next to Kei on the mattress, Ame resting his head on the boy's stomach while he read a comic book under the dimmed lighting of a camping lantern.

“Do you know if Sen has any more Deadpool comics?” The boy asked, turning his head to look over Kei. The girl shrugged her bony shoulders and continued to pick at her meal. Finally she just set it down next to her on the floor, and for the first time, Ren and Ame didn't leap at the chance to eat it. Instead they just laid in their respective spots, perfectly content with using their friends as pillows rather than scoring a second meal.

Carl looked at the girl and could tell right away that she was upset. She was upset, worried, and restless. He knew the feeling all too well. 

“Kei?” He asked out, watching as she turned her head to him, “Are you...You're not mad about what I did...are you?”

He stared intently over at the girl as she quietly shook her head, her eyes planted on the fabric of her blanket.

“...No...” She muttered lightly. Carl nodded in response, watching her as she picked at the frayed ends of her blanket. He shifted a around and laid on his side, propping his head up on his elbow.

“I just..I thought that if I didn't, he'd end up hurting us,” He answered truthfully, “I didn't kill that walker back at the farm, and Dale died. Dad didn't kill Andrew, and he came back and killed my mom...”

The girl's dark eyes flicked in his direction, watching as the boy chewed on his lip and looked down in hesitation.

“I know I didn't do what you said...about controlling myself, but...” He let out a small sigh and looked back at her, “I did what I had to...”

Kei turned her head and watched as Carl's big blue eyes stayed rooted to the mattress. It was only a minute or so before he looked at her and gave her a strained half smile.

“Can you tell me a story?” He asked, letting his head fall back into the pillow, “I like hearing your stories.”

Kei let her head fall back as well, staring at him as her head landed into the soft cushions.

“I've told you a ton already,” She remarked. Carl shrugged and shook his head, 

“So? They're cool,” He said simply, “Like the one about the dragon king, or the demon that eats nightmares.” 

“ _Baku_ ,” She corrected.

“ _Baku,_ ” He repeated, chuckling lightly as she giggled and nodded. He lifted his head from the pillow and turned to look at her. She smiled lightly at him, holding out her arm as he scooted over and into her frame. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she held him close, gently running her fingers through his hair as he snuggled into her frame. It had been a while since her and Carl spent time together like this. Sometimes she forgot that he was still a kid; that underneath that hard shell was someone young and and curious and fearful just like any other.

“My grandpa told me that when he was little, his dad took him to see a dragon,” “He lived in this old village way up in the mountains, called _Kumomura_ _..._ ”

“It was small, and everyone was dirt poor, but they were happy,” “Behind their village was this cave where they believed _Ryujin_ , the dragon king liked to rest...”

Carl closed his eyes and listened to Kei's voice as she continued her story. He could picture it in his head; a large dragon with blue and green scales, shiny and hard as diamonds. He could see the creature curled up inside the cave, leering at the young boy of 12 as he wandered in close beside his dad. 

“I wish we could go,” He let out suddenly, making Kei stop her story for a moment. She looked down at him quizzically.

“What?”

“I wish we could all go to Japan,” He sighed with a yawn, “See all those places...It'd be cool to see the cave, even if dragons aren't real...” 

Kei's eyes flicked to the mattress and she nodded slowly, a faint smile on her face as she pictured all of them together, happy and exploring the cave. If she had it her way, she'd show them all of Japan; all of what it had to offer.

“Yeah, it would...” She muttered honestly, “It'd be cool to go anywhere outside of Georgia. Anywhere safe...”

Carl nodded lightly and closed his eyes, listening to Kei as she continued on with her story. It wasn't long before both of them dozed off, dreaming about Dragon kings and samurai swords forged from their scales. 

  
  


Everyone got up early the next morning, waiting for Rick and the others to come back with news of Woodbury. Breakfast was quiet as usual, minus the gurgling and whimpering coming from Judith as she guzzled down her formula. Ren huddled close to Beth and Carol, her eyes intent on the little baby as the two women tended to her. Kei and Carl watched them with faint smiles on their faces as they ate. 

“If you two have any _really_ dirty clothes, I'm gonna need you to put them in the pile,” Carol said suddenly, “We've got a lot of laundry to do today.” 

“My whole wardrobe's a pile of dirty laundry,” Carl scoffed, Kei scoffing next to him with a nod.

“Anything with walker guts or dirt chunks on it goes in the dirty laundry pile,” Carol informed with a smile. Her light grey eyes looked down at Judith in Beth's arms fondly. She leaned over and began cooing and chirping to the little infant, earning soft yips and gurgles in response. 

“Do you think Dad or Sen will ever go on a run for more comic books?” Carl asked the girls thoughtfully, “I mean, I've read them all...” 

Beth and Carol shrugged and shook their heads while Kei finished off her breakfast and wiped her mouth.

“How about you put it on the list the next time we go out,” She answered, tipping his Sherriff hat in front of his eyes. Carl quickly put it in place and gently nudged her in the shoulder with a smile. Kei nudged him right back before stopping and perking up at a familiar sound. It was the faint sound of...engines. Cars. A motorcycle.

She quickly shot over a look at Carl and the two of them bolted out of their seats, Ren and Ame darting after them in excitement. Kei and Carl kept knocking into each other as they scrambled for the exit, Carol and Beth calling after them to be careful. 

Kei latched onto the cell block door and pulled it open, Carl and the wolves rushing out and down the steps like bats out of hell. The girl darted after them and they rushed out onto the courtyard, watching complete shock at the sight before them.

There was an extra vehicle behind Daryl and the Silver truck. 

It was a bus, and it looked full. 

Kei watched in disbelief as Maggie and Glenn opened up the gate, the three vehicles pulling through and coming to a stop just outside the cellblock's side-entrance. Daryl turned off his bike and quickly got up from his seat, turning to face Kei as she rushed up into him and took him into a tight hug. She gave him a quick kiss before turning her head to watch the bus's doors open up. Tyreese and a woman she didn't know stepped out, carefully guiding Woodbury survivors off the bus and into the prison. She stared over at Rick with furrowed brows, Carol and Beth doing the same as they stepped out of the prison and saw what was going on. The leader gave each of them a small nod, letting them know of the new plan to merge the two survivor groups together. 

Kei looked up at Daryl for his reaction. He was okay with this? Living next to his captors that wanted him dead only weeks ago? 

He seemed to be. He only stared over at the Woodburians and watched as they pooled into their new home. Women, men, and children, young and old and the like. They were going from just a small group to a good town's worth of people. He couldn't help but wonder how they were all going to survive together in this thing. 

“Babe,” He heard Kei call softly, looking down at her confused expression, “You're okay with this?” 

He nodded lightly, his jaw bobbing as he chewed on his lip a little. 

“Governor killed 'em all,” He muttered, watching as Kei's eyebrows furrowed, “Saw 'em while we was on the road. All the people he came with, shot 'em dead. A lot of 'em turned.”

His stormy eyes flicked over to the lanky woman over by Tyreese. 

“Karen over there's the only one who made it out,” He said, pointing a finger over at her as she continued to help her fellow Woodbury survivors along. Kei turned her head and looked over at the woman with messy dark hair and a motherly face. She seemed harmless enough, but she couldn't help but feel a spike of mistrust in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but feel it around all of the newcomers. These were the people who wanted Daryl and Merle to claw each other apart for fun. They all served under the Governor, and they were more than willing to have Kei and her group all dead just a day ago.

“Hey,” The hunter muttered, earning a look from his girl as she stared up at him, “It was Rick's call.” 

Her dark eyes flicked down before looking back up at him, her head bobbing as she nodded in acceptance. Daryl nodded at her as well and gently placed his hand on the back of her head, pulling her in and planting a breif kiss on her forehead. 

“We're gonna be okay,” He muttered into her skin. Kei's eyes fluttered shut as she nodded, pulling back a little as he broke away. 

“We always are,” She replied with a faint smile. She then took his hand and gripped it gently before letting go, the hunter stalking away to go help Rick and Michonne bring supplies back in. The girl let out a shaky sigh and held herself against the chilly fall breeze that brushed past her. She continued to watch as the rest of Woodbury entered their new home, settling into their new cellblocks and familiarizing themselves with the rest of the prison group. She still couldn't believe this was happening, that this was even real. 

They were starting a new life all over again.

 

Sen made his way out of the cellblock, greeting a few Woodbury familiars along the way. He was happy to see Tyreese again, along Patrick, the 15-year-old he had taken akin to since he was as much a sci-fi buff as he was. He could understand if the prison group had their doubts, but Sen knew first-hand that these were generally good people, and that this was for the best. They would be a lot stronger now, better too. And with Rick taking lead instead of Phillip, this would be a whole new life, a better life. Everyone would be happy. 

The young adult stepped out of the cellblock and into the morning sun, sighing at the feel of crisp, cool air against his skin. He stretched his arms out with a grunt before looking over to the fence line. He saw Kei standing there, draped in Daryl's poncho, not moving an inch. She just stood there and watched.

 

Sen stepped up beside her and gently nudged her with his elbow, letting out a small “psst!”

“Everything okay?” He asked, looking out past the fence and down at the damaged courtyard. 

“You didn't find him,” Kei said, “The Governor...”

Sen shook his head no.

“He pussed out, never made it back to Woodbury, along with Martinez and Shupert,” He explained, “Michonne and Daryl are planning to hunt him down though. You know, an epic 'America's Most Wanted' car chase kind of thing.” 

He watched as Kei smirked and let out a scoff, her eyes never leaving the broken up courtyard and the walkers that staggered around on it. Her little smile soon fell as she stared over at the walkers by the graves.

“Andrea didn't make it back...” She said suddenly. Sen's stomach dropped a little at the thought of her. He remembered all the blood she sat in, her tired blue eyes looking up at him, Michonne sitting by her side the entire time, even when she...

“The Governor...took her and...kept her in the interrogation cell,” He admitted, his dark eyes flicking over to his best friend, “...We found Milton there too, but he was a Walker...” 

“Milton bit Andrea,” She finished, turning her head and facing him, “Daryl told me.”

Sen nodded lightly and looked back out at the fence, out at all the walkers that still roamed around the courtyard. He would have to clear it out to make way for another grave. He would have to clear the courtyard and help fix the towers. He would have to rebuild again, all over again. His grip on the fence grew tight before loosening as a hand slipped into his own.

“Is everything good?” He heard Kei ask, her eyes never leaving the fence. 

The boy turned his head and stared over at his best friend of 12 years, the smile on his face light as he nodded. He stared back out at the devastated courtyard, his hand never leaving hers. 

“Everything's good,” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaannd SEASON 3 = DONE. Woooo!! 
> 
> Thank you guys for all the nice comments! Wow! I love getting feedback, from each and every one of you.   
> And I'm glad you all are enjoying it as much as I am. Mission accomplished then.  
> If I could give you a cupcake or something, I totally would. ^.^
> 
> I've got some ideas for season 4 brewing in my head,  
> it all just depends on if I want to pull a Robert Kirkman and ruin everyone's day lol.   
> See you all in Season 4! xx  
> p.s. did you SEE last week's episode?! It was INSANE!! OMFG.


	39. The Iron Horseman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The hell're you doin', huh?” He asked, “Why ya doin' this?”
> 
> “Daryl, he has to die,” She whimpered frantically, holding onto his wrists in desperation, “He has to. You have to kill him for me. He can't be here with me. You have to kill him!”

The alarm clock next to his bed blared out 9:30. The kids running a muck downstairs indicated it was breakfast, and that Daryl brought back something other than squirrel this time. Sen cracked open one eye at the familiar sound of squeaking and whimpering next to him, four sets of paws pattering anxiously around his bed. A blob of dark fur rushed past his vision, and that made him groan in disdain.

They were awake.

“ _Rick_ ,” He grumbled out, closing his eyes as a wet nose pressed itself up against his face. A sloppy wet tongue darted out and began smothering his face in kisses, making Sen scrunch up his face in disgust.

“Rick!” He called out, grunting at the sound of another set of paws. Another nose and mouth joined  in on the kisses. Sen turned his head away and attempted to sheild himself with his pillow, more mouths and noses burrowing their way through and touching his face.

“Carl! Somebody!” He shouted out, listening to the hurried sounds of old sneakers running into his cell.

“Shadow!” Carl spoke out sharply, “Shadow no! Leave! Chiyo! You too!”

But the young wolves didn't comply. Instead they sat themselves right down on Sen's head, making the young man turn over sharply in attempts to get them off. They quickly rolled off his head and landed on his lap, squirming and writhing around like a couple of worms. No matter how hard Sen tried to close his eyes again, their movement kept him up. It was a battle not worth fighting.

“Okay! Okay! I'm up, you brats!” Sen grunted, sitting up straight and staring down at the hyper pups. They rolled around in his lap, a coupe of 5 month old fur balls yipping and chirping at each other in excitement. Carl took a seat on the mattress as well, running a hand through Shadow's soft, dark fur.

“Sorry,” The leader's son muttered, “He only really listens to my dad.”

Sen rubbed his eyes with a yawn and shook his head,

“It's alright. Let's just get these furballs out of here before they tear up my bed again.”

Carl nodded lightly and called to Shadow and Chiyo with a firm, “ _Appu!_ ” The two wolves scrambled up off the mattress and darted after Carl as he coaxed them with a wave of his hand. Sen watched as they followed him intently out of his cell like a pair of little ducklings, a smile creeping up on his lips. Sure those two were as insane as the rest of their siblings, but they never ceased to liven up the place.

“Chiyo's definitely a beta,” Patrick remarked, watching as the little wolf followed Beth and Zack across the courtyard. The couple held hands and turned around from time to time, calling the little red wolf puppy along as they wandered around the courtyard. Kei said they needed to keep the puppies active. They had a lot of energy that could easily get pent up if they weren't getting enough, and pent-up energy lead to torn up pillows and shoes ripped to shreds. Though, it often led to that anyway, whether they got excersize or not.

Carol watched from the outdoor grill and kept dicing up potatoes as Beth and Zack walked along, grinning and chuckling at each other fondly. A smile couldn't help but appear on the woman's face. They may have only known each other for a few months now, but love was definitely in the air for those two.

She handed the spectacled 15 year old a potato and a knife.

“A beta, huh?” She stared over at the wolf as she darted around Zack and Beth's legs, “So you think she's capable of second-in-command?”

“Well she's fearless, never backs down from any fights with her brothers and sisters,” Patrick answered thoughtfully, “She's not scared of the walkers, unlike...”

“Unlike Summer over here,” Carol finished, looking down at the dark eyed puppy resting loyally at her feet. The little wolf watched quietly as her sister ran around and yanked at Zack's pant leg with her teeth, getting him to stop and laugh as she bounded around him.

“W-Well Summer's more timid, quiet,” Patrick mentioned, adjusting his glasses before he started cutting the potato, “I'm sure if it came down to it, she'd defend us without a second thought. But she seems like the type to avoid a fight.”

Carol nodded thoughtfully, looking down at the puppy with a warm smile. Summer was quiet compared to her siblings. She seemed to be the most nurturing and patient one of the bunch. She didn't howl at obscene hours of the night. She didn't run around and try to tear up everything, instead she sat quietly by Carol's side, slightly withdrawn from the others.

“Oh my god, go away!!”

Carol and Patrick looked up as [Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=102423198#fans) rolled across the courtyard like a bat out of hell on his skateboard. A long trail of wolf puppies were chasing after him. His foot constantly hit the ground as he attempted to push himself harder and faster across the pavement, trying his best to avoid Shadow as he darted up close.

A small group of kids watched and laughed at Sen's misfortune, the show seeming to give them great joy. They especially liked it when his board caught on a rock and he hopped right off, landing into a pile of garbage bags. It was comedic gold seeing Sen trying to avoid the puppies each day, and it was even funnier to them when he failed. Four skinny piles of fur scurried their way to the garbage bags, piling up on Sen's body and covering him in kisses. The lanky man just laid there and accepted it. There was no use in fighting it now. It was a battle not worth fighting.

Rick watched from the catwalk with a smile on his face, staring down at Sen as he squirmed around and managed to get the little puppies off of him. They seemed determined to give him a hard time, and even though Sen often put off like he hated it, the leader could tell he was enjoying himself. They all were enjoying themselves. This last month must have been one of the best they've had. No deaths. Still no sign of the Governor. No problems. He could get used to this.

“Finally putting my profession to good use, I gotta say,” An old southern voice chuckled out. Rick turned his head to see Hershel walking steadily along, a wolf puppy with ash grey fur and dark eyes treading close beside him.

“I've had to do more checkups and shots on animals than i've had to do in ages,” The old man admitted with a smile, “It's a breath of fresh air.”

“Yeah, well, we can't let this whole breeding thing become habit,” Rick stated, looking down at the four pups as they chased after the children, “This is a one-time deal. I don't wanna have to worry about being overrun by wolves. It's bad enough with walkers.”

Hershel's eyes flicked from the leader over to the courtyard.

“I'm sure when they're old enough they'll be sent out on their own,” He remarked with a light chuckle, “They grow pretty fast, if you can't already tell.”

Rick nodded lightly, his head dipping down as he looked to the concrete floor.

“I don't know if everyone'll be up to lettin' them loose,” He admitted, “They all have names now...”

Hershel turned his head, staring over at Rick, watching the man’s tired eyes as they jutted around before looking to the ground.

“Nothin' wrong with naming 'em,” He remarked, “Gives them a personality, sets them apart.”

“It means you have intentions of keepin' 'em,” Rick answered gruffly, “Of gettin' attatched.”

There was a breif pause. Hershel’s eyes stared over at his leader, before looking back out at the courtyard.

“I'm gonna go check on the crops,” Rick announced, tearing away from the old farmer and his wolf companion. Hershel turned his head and watched as Rick walked back into the cellblock, shutting the rusted metal door behind him. He stared at the door and let out a disheartened sigh,

“The guy's had it rough,” He spoke out, looking down at the grey wolf cub beside him, “Maybe your brother can soften him up.”

The little wolf tilted his head lightly at him, earning a soft smile and a chuckle from the old vet.

"Let's go get some breakfast, Eli," 

 

Daryl opened his eyes to find [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=101345515) sitting up in bed, fully clothed in pj's with a brush in her hand. She was staring ahead, lightly humming to herself as she brushed out her damp hair. He sniffed a little and smiled. Grapefruit.

“Took a shower without me,” He muttered, rubbing his sleepy eyes before stretching his arms. Kei looked over at him with a fond smile.

“Morning,” She chirped, “And I often shower without you.”

Daryl rubbed his eyes again and grumbled something she could barely make out. She could've sworn she heard the word “brat” in there somewhere though. She set her brush aside and laid down on top of him, resting her chin on his chest.

“You never shower anyway,” She giggled, shifting to stare down into his dirty face, “You're just a typical boy. All gross and full of fleas.”

“And yer a typical girl,” He retorted, “All whiny and covered in...grapefruit shit.”

Kei's nose crinkled as she laughed. She shook her head at him breifly before leaning down, kissing his lips.

“Good one,” She mused between kisses. Daryl muttered a “Shut up,” before pressing his lips to hers, his hands entangling themselves in her freshly showered hair. Kei curled her arms protectively around his head as she dipped into his lips, opening her mouth and deepening the kiss with a sigh. His lips traveled from her mouth to her jaw before sliding their way to her neck, planting firm kisses before sighing at the faint smell of grapefruit on her moist skin.

“Ya smell good,” He mumbled, nuzzling into the warm flesh and inhaling her scent. He loved the smell of her body wash, how it made her skin so soft and smooth to touch.

“You could too,” She replied with a stifled giggle, “If you took a shower.”

“Take it with me,” He offered as his nose brushed gently up and down against her neck.

“I already took one,” She remarked, giggling as he nipped the skin, “We're supposed to be saving water.”

“Will be,” He mumbled, parting from her sweet-smelling skin for a moment to look up at her, “Yer just sharin' my turn with me.”

Kei was about to protest, but instead gasped as he brought his hips up against hers. The reaction he got from being so close to her was right there pressed up against her, and it was making her own body react as well. Her hips impulsively brushed up and down against his own, grinding against the growing hard on in his boxers. 

"You gonna shower with me?" He asked, gripping her hips as he continued to slowly rub and grind against her. He watched as she bit her lip and her head dipped down low as she groaned. Her bony fingers inched their way into his hair, gently stroking his scalp as she buried her face into his neck.

"Hmmm...no," She mumbled in a teasing tone. She then let out a surprised “Oh!” as he suddenly shot up and wrapped his arms around her. The girl latched onto his broad shoulders and yelped as he flipped them over, Kei's back hitting the mattress while Daryl hovered dominantly over her. She let out a laugh and wrapped her arms around her hunter's neck, closing her eyes and sighing as Daryl dipped down and began covering her neck in little kisses and bites.

He stood up to his knees and helped slide her pj pants and underwear off her slender legs, his eyes locked on hers as he tossed them aside. She sat up and leaned in, their noses almost touching and their eyes never leaving each other's. She gave him a playful smile as he got to his boxers and hurried out of them, the girl pecking his lips as he tossed them aside. She giggled when a hand suddenly pushed her back down onto the mattress, her lip curling between her teeth as Daryl hovered and kept her pinned there with his body.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around him once more. Her finger nails gently ran up down his back, brushing over the scars and sending shivers down the hunter’s spine. He shuddered and let out a small “ _ungh_ ,” under his breath, earning a stifled chuckle from the girl under him. He let out an airy laugh and looked down at her and her smile. He kept his eyes on hers as he reached between them with one hand and rested himself between her thighs. She parted her legs a little more for him and he slowly slid into her, watching closely as her mouth slowly parted and her eyes grew wide. She took in a sharp breath and her eyes instinctively shut at the sensation, her head falling back for a minute at the feeling of his length inside her. With eyes still closed, she let out a shaky laugh at the feeling of Daryl's lips on her neck, the scruff of his facial hair tickling her skin. He parted from her neck a minute to look down at her, her eyes slowly opening to look up at him.

“Ya know yer gonna have to shower after this,” He mentioned, smiling as his girl shook her head and said a firm “I hate you,” before taking his lips.

 

Carl sat on the pavement and watched as Ame darted around and attempted to wrangle his kids. The puppies were a wild bunch; running around, nipping at their dad's tail, jumping up and knocking noses with him. The scene reminded him of little kids on a field trip--all of the little ones running around like crazy while the teacher tried their best to keep them together. It was funny.

“Carl,” He heard a familiar voice say. Carl looked up and saw his father walking by, the man signaling for the young boy to follow him. The 14-year-old quickly got up off the ground and ran after his dad, noticing from the corner of his eye a dark blob of fur breaking off from the group of pups. A skinny wolf cub with dark grey fur came running after Rick, catching up quick and following close beside him. The young boy couldn't help but smile. He looked good next to his dad.

“Shadow likes you,” Carl mentioned, looking down at the dark wolf trailing behind the leader. Rick just kept walking on, paying no mind to the animal following the heels of his boots.

“Does he?” He asked simply. The young teen nodded, smiling lightly.

“He follows you around a lot, like a shadow, you know?”

“I don't think you should be naming him,” His dad warned, “The pups aren't gonna be around for long.”

The boy stopped in his tracks out of shock for a moment before stepping forward again.

“Wh-Why not?” He asked out. He stared at the back of his father's head intently, waiting for an answer. It was only after a minute or so that he actually spoke up.

“It's just a bad idea having so many wolves around,” Rick reasoned, looking ahead towards the crop field, “We can't afford to keep feeding 'em, we don't have the time to train 'em, and we can't have them around the baby once they're big enough. They might hurt her, or anyone else in the group.”

“W-Well Ren's protecting Judith,” Carl defended timidly, carefully thinking out his words, “You see how she is. She nearly bit Doctor S's hand off when he gave Judith her checkup last week.”

“That's instinct,” His father retorted, “And Ren's an adult. The pups don't know how to react, how to be careful around small kids.”

He turned around to face his son, looking over at his heartbroken expression. He could tell Carl wanted to say something back, but he held it in anyway. Instead he nodded respectively, his lips pursing into a thin line as his eyes fell to the dirt. Rick took a step forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, gripping it gently,

“I know you like them,” He spoke calmly, “I know everyone does, but I don't think it's a good idea to have so many. You see why?”

“Because...we can't afford it,” Carl answered, looking down at Shadow as he sniffed the dirt beside Rick's right foot. The leader never looked down at the puppy once.

“Kei said they won't be full size for another few months,” He informed, trying to give the boy some form of comfort, “They still need to learn how to hunt and such, so you all have a good chunk of time before they have to leave.”

And with those words, he let his hand fall to his side and started walking away towards the crop field. He pulled out his farming gloves from his back pocket and started putting them on when he heard Carl call out,

“...Dad?” The 14 year old watched as his father turned around to face him, “You...You don't hate them, do you?”

He watched as his father paused and looked away for a moment. He stared over at the graves for a minute before looking back at his son, shaking his head,

“I don't hate them,” He answered, “Go get the water bucket for me, will ya?”

And Carl left it at that. He nodded his head slowly and turned away to head back to the cell block. The leader turned around and continued on towards the crops. Shadow followed close behind him, sniffing the dirt and grass along the way.

 

“Lor sweetie, howl,” Glenn chirped, “Come on Lor, howl. Awooooo...”

He gently stroked the young wolf cub's fur and howled lightly over and over. The puppy huffed and squeaked a few times before letting out a short, high-pitched howl. It was border-lining on a squeal, and it made Maggie giggle. She loved the sight of her boyfriend and a puppy howling together, it was cute. She reached over and gently petted Lor's head, the young wolf stopping instantly and rushing into her lap.

“She's crazy about you,” Glenn remarked, watching the grey wolf reach up to lick Maggie's chin. The brunette smiled lightly and jutted out her chin, giving the puppy easier access to lick.

“Yeah well us girls have a special bond,” She remarked, laughing lightly as the puppy attempted to lick her mouth. She turned her head away and laughed as Lor attempted to scurry and climb up on her, Glenn quickly stepping in and taking the puppy into his lap.

“You think Rick's really okay with me naming her Lor?” Maggie asked, pulling her knees up to her chest, “When I told him, he said it was, but...he looked upset with me.”

“I don't think Rick's okay with any of us naming them anything, to be honest,” Glenn opined, running his hand through Lor's fur as she nestled and curled up on top of his lap.

“What's he got against them, anyway?” She asked, staring down at the little grey wolf as she laid there patiently, “They're so sweet...”

Glenn simply shook his head and shrugged, staring out through the guard tower window and past the fences.

“I don't know,” He answered honestly, “I don't think he really even knows, either.”

He turned and looked over at his girlfriend, the two of them giving each other half-cocked smiles and scoffing. The two of them jumped however, when they heard the sound of a gunshot cracked in the air. Lor was the first to perk up and leap off of Glenn's lap, looking around in excitement as Glenn and Maggie shot up off the floor. They looked out through the openings of the damaged guard tower and saw some movement outside the fences.

Just outside the gate, a man leaped out from the treeline, firing his pistol at a small horde of walkers.

“Help!” He cried out, firing another shot at a walker, “Help me please! HELP!”

He only managed to shell out two more shots before he tossed his empty gun at a walker and made a run for it towards the front gate. Glenn was the first one to bolt into action and quickly swung open the trapdoor,

“You go get Rick! I got the guy, okay?!”

Maggie nodded rapidly with a firm “Right!” and followed Glenn down the ladder. The two of them bolted out of the guard tower and ran as fast as their legs could take them, Maggie towards the cell block, and Glenn towards the gate.

 

The security wing was locked off. Rick watched with a firm hold on the knife in his holster as the stranger downed the bottle of water. The back of his tanned, weathered hand swiped across his thin, beared mouth as he let out a hearty sigh. He stared up at Rick and Hershel with thankfulness in his eyes, his smile weak with exhaustion.

“Thanks, man,” He said, looking over to Glenn, “I'd be dead out there if it weren't for you, buddy. I owe ya one.”

Glenn didn't say anything back. He just stared at the guy with a hard expression, one eerily similar to Rick's. The stranger downed the last of his water bottle and set it aside as he wiped his mouth again, looking up at the leader with yet another weak smile.

“Those geeks out there, man,” He sighed, “Snatched two of my guys in the middle of the night while we was camping out. A whole pack of 'em, it was nuts. Barely made it out with my life.”

Rick's lips pursed to a thin line as he shifted in place. He scanned the stranger closely, an older man with tan leathery skin and a salt and pepper beard. He wore a sweaty black bandana over his head, and a worn leather vest that looked like it was on it's last limb.

“Were you out there by yourself, Mr...” Hershel trailed off, waiting for the stranger to answer with his name.

“Shaw,” He answered simply, “My friends call me Shaw.”

“Well, _Shaw_ ,” Rick answered gruffly, tossing a finger in the exit's direction, “Once you're good and hyrdrated, we'll give you a pack and you can be on your way.”

The minute Rick said that, the stranger's eyes widened and panic struck him.

“W-Whoa, whoa hold up now,” The man spoke out, sitting up suddenly and causing everyone to jump, “You can't let me--I mean, by the looks of this place, you got it pretty good, ya know? All nice and secure. You can squeeze in one more, can't ya?”

Rick shook his head slowly, and the stranger's lips pursed to a thin line, his weary eyes staring firmly into the leader's,

“I think you could.”

Rick looked directly at the man and shook his head, "We can't take in anymore."

“You even know what you're livin' in, chief?” The stranger asked, circling his finger around in the air, “This place was built for takin' in more.”

"We don't know anything about you," Glenn remarked.

“You know I'm a man in need,” The stranger retorted to him, looking back over at Rick, “I'd say that's enough to earn me one of these cells.”

"It isn't," Rick spoke, his words cold and slow, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep lookin."

“Look, I'm good with a gun, I-I'm a hell of a handy man, you could use me!” The stranger pleaded firmly, “I'll earn my keep, I-I swear. You just—I can't go back out there, not after what happened to the rest of my boys. I'm all alone!”

His eyes were wide and desperate at this point. He looked from Glenn to Hershel to Rick, his breathing ragged as fear began washing over him. He could see the leader was firm on his decision, and Glenn was keen to go through with it. Hershel seemed to be the only one a little lenient,

“What if we just--”

“No.” Rick bit.

“Rick,” Hershel spoke, “We've let countless people in here before, some of them were out there on their own...We _can_ fit in one more...”

The leader turned and looked over to the old man before turning and looking down at the stranger. He stared at the man's panicked expression, the desperation clear as day. He seemed harmless enough, but even he knew appearances were deceiving. There was just something about this guy that seemed...off. He didn't know what it was, but something within him was telling him not to trust him, to throw him out, to get rid of him.

But still, the leader sighed through his nose and shook his head lightly, caving in yet again at Hershel's words.

“If you stay with us, you'll have to answer three questions,” Rick spoke, watching as the stranger let out a sigh of relief. However, he quickly tensed up when Rick leaned over and got in his face, his expression menacing and animal-like.

“But know this,” He snarled bitterly, “If you try _anythin'_ , anythin' at all with any one of our people...you'll wish you were back out there.”

The stranger nodded rapidly without complaint and watched as Rick stood back up. He instructed firmly for the stranger to stay there and once again, he complied without a word. He watched as Rick turned around sharply and walked back towards Cellblock C, Glenn and Hershel following after him.

 

“The hell is this I'm hearin' 'bout a newbie?” Daryl asked the next morning, looking down at his group from the railing on the upper floor. Kei stood next to him and watched as the group crowded around below, her curiosity peaking as Rick looked up at them.

“Came in yesterday,” He informed, “His name is Shaw. We don't know yet if his stay is permanent.”

“You don't trust him?” Carol asked, watching as Rick shook his head.

“...I just have a feeling about him,” He answered honestly, looking to each group member as he spoke, “We don't really know much about this guy yet. If you see him do anything or say anything that makes you feel unsafe, I want you to report it to me. Alright?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Rick dispersed the group meeting. Kei watched as everyone went off and did their own thing, her eyebrows knitting together in thought. Shaw...

“Hey,” She heard Daryl say, an elbow gently nudging her bony arm. She turned and looked over at him with a smile, chuckling as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

“Don't worry 'bout that guy,” He assured, pressing his forehead to hers, “He ain't gonna hurt ya." 

“I know,” She replied, shifting to kiss him once more before breaking away, “I'll go get us some breakfast.”

The hunter nodded lightly with a small “hm.” and watched as she slipped past, “I'll be out in the courtyard with Rick, kay?”

Kei gave him a little wave in response before sitting on the railing and sliding down the stairs, earning a small scoff and a smile from the hunter.

 

“And then I told Rick that the wires don't hook up that way and he shocked himself,” Sen ranted on, standing next to Kei as she piled a bunch of eggs and bacon on a plate, “I was like 'dumbass, I told you they don't hook up that way!' and he was all 'well I thought you said blah blah blah,' and I said, 'dude, I told you positive to negative, it's not fuckin' rocket science—”

“Mouth,” Kei corrected as she grabbed two water bottles.

“Oh, sorry, _freakin'_ rocket science,” Sen spoke, trailing after her as she headed for the cellblock's exit, “And _then_ I told his ass—I mean _butt_ that the _pipeline_ was all fucked—I mean _messed up_ because he used freaking _rubber washers_ like an idiot. Like who does that...”

Kei only half listened as Sen stepped forward and opened up the cell block door for her. He ranted the entire time as they walked down the steps together, tossing in a bunch of 'engineer student lingo' that she didn't understand. Still, she enjoyed Sen's company, and his stories were often better than what any reality tv show could ever give her. They were funnier, too. She simply smiled and managed to get in a small “mhm.” here and there, letting him know she was listening, even though she was more focused on how good the morning sun felt on her skin. She lifted her arms and stretched with a hearty sigh, still managing to juggle the plate of breakfast in one hand, and two water bottles in the other. She couldn't wait to give it to Daryl. She always loved eating breakfast with him.

“Oh and do you remember that guy Kyle from that bar I took you to for your 21st?” Sen asked, “He actually _called_ me before the world ended and he was like 'hey, you wanna hang out?' and I was like, 'Bitch, do you watch the news?! Run!' You know? It was complete _chaos_ at that point, I'm telling you! People were looting and eating each other in the streets, and he wanted to hang out. I was like 'what in the hell?'”

He let out a laugh as he opened up the entrance to the courtyard and let Kei walk out first. She gave him a 'thank you' and chuckled as he went on with his story, never skipping a beat or pausing to take a breath. Kei's attention went from him over to the two men standing over by the fence. She saw Hershel pointing out at all the crops, a man she didn't recognize standing next to him. She looked down at the man's vest and her smile slowly fell as she read the words patched across his back.

The Iron Horsemen.

Her dark eyes wandered up to the man's head, watching as he and Hershel shared a laugh before turning around. Her entire world seemed to slow down as her heart began thumping harder and harder behind her ribcage. Her muscles shook. Her throat tensed up. Her stomach twisted. She watched as he turned around, and her eyes widened as she saw his face.

It was him.

It was Dago.

She saw Hershel look in her direction, smiling and waving lightly towards her and Sen. Dago turned and faced them as well, and it was then her entire world seemed to shift. The plate slipped from her hands. She let go of the water bottles. Her eyes focused soley on his, and she could see it slowly forming on his face. The smile he shared with Hershel had faded. His eyes widened, and he watched as the devil dropped everything with a gut wrenching crash. The glass plate shattered against the pavement, breakfast flying everywhere along with the water from the water bottles. Kei suddenly shot forward like a bullet towards Dago, pulling out her pistol and pointing it right at him.

Her entire world slowed down. She could see Hershel's smile falling. She heard Sen saying something behind her, but she couldn't make out what. All she could hear was blood. Blood was rushing, pumping, shooting through her. A voice in her head saying over and over to kill it. Kill it. Kill it.

Get it away from Hershel. Get it away from everyone.

Kill it. Kill it with gunfire.

She could feel her jaw opening, her stomach twisting, the muscles in her fingers tensing. Words were coming. They weren't coming up like bile, they weren't heavy and bitter, or hateful and deadly like poison. They felt light, and they felt strong. They felt like fire.

Words were coming, slipping past her throat and burning like fire, animal-like fire. The muscles in her fingers tensed, pressing down on the trigger harder and harder before she felt her gun kick back. Her weapon spewed out fire and metal as she screamed at the top of her lungs,

“HERSHEL GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

 

“Kei!!” Sen screamed, watching as the stranger latched onto his bloody arm and toppled over, howling in agony before screaming “Mercy!” at the top of his lungs. Kei lunged at him like an animal, kicking him in the side over and over before pointing the gun down right at his head.

“Kei!!” Hershel yelled, “Kei what are you doing!!”

“I told you to fucking leave me alone!” She screamed at the cowering man at her feet, “Didn't I fucking tell you?!”

“HELP!” Shaw screamed, howling again as Kei shoved her boot down onto his stomach.

“YOU FUCKER!” She spat,“WHAT DID I SAY WOULD HAPPEN IF I FUCKING SAW YOU AGAIN?!”

“Keiko!” Sen yelled, running up to her side, “Dude, what the fuck?! Put it down!”

Kei turned around sharply and pointed the gun right at him, her eyes wild and manic. The lanky man instantly lept back and raised his hands, his eyes just as wide as hers. He stared over at her in complete shock. The look on her face. She was horrified as well, but not because of her actions—because of what laid cowering at her feet at this very moment. She was scared of it.

“Kei, don't do this!” Hershel barked, watching as she stomped on the guy's side once more, “KEI!!”

“I fucking told you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again, you fucking piece of _shit_ ,” She spat, staring venomously down into her attacker's eyes. It was him alright. There was no denying it. She remembered that fearful look on his face, and he remembered that demonic one in hers. She knew it was him, and that shitty bandana he wore to cover his forehead didn't change that. There was a message embedded into the skin that she had the joy of writing herself. All she had to do was rip his bandana off and show everyone just who this sick fuck really was.

“Keiko-chan,” Sen called, looking back at the cellblock in worry as he heard the muffled yells in panic, “Keiko...”

He reached out to touch her shoulder and instead was met with the barrel of her gun. She whipped around and pressed it into the palm of his hand, her eyes staring daggers into his own.

“Don't, Sen,” She growled bitterly. Hershel held a hand out to the boy and urged him to back off slowly. Sen carefully obliged and started inching his way back towards the cell block, stopping when he saw Rick and Daryl rushing up from the lower courtyard like their lives depended on it.

“Oh shit,” He muttered.

“KEI!” Daryl barked, flinging open the gate and rushing through.

“Oh thank god, HELP ME! PLEASE! HEL-” Shaw's head flung back as Kei smacked her boot right into it, like she was kicking a soccer ball.

“Shut the fuck up!” She spat.

“What the hell is going on?!” Rick barked, pulling out his gun and pointing it right down at the stranger. Hershel held his hand out and shook his head, pointing over to Kei,

“Shaw wasn't doing anything! Kei fired on him!” He yelled.

“It's true! I saw it!” Sen added.

“She don't just fire on anyone unless they fuckin' deserved it!” Daryl bit, turning towards his girl and stepping up beside her, “Girl, what'd he do to ya? Did he touch ya?”

The memory of Dago whipping her flashed across her mind, making her flinch and lunge at him again. She attempted to kick him in the side again and the stranger rolled away, huddling closer to the fence as he whimpered and cried in agony.

“I don't know what she's talking about! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT!” His cries soon turned into a full on yell as a set of jaws and fangs suddenly slammed up against his face. Ren and Ame snarled and snapped at him from behind the fence, going bat shit insane as they attempted to gnaw and chew at him through the metal. Hershel, Rick, and Daryl backed up in shock as the wolves went positively feral, practically foaming at the mouths for the man currently wounded and bleeding on the pavement. They had never seen them act this violent before, the way they snarled and barked and clawed at the fence. They slammed their bodies up against it a number of times, barking violently for everyone to get away and let them tear him apart.

The stranger rolled away towards Rick and curled up against his boots as Kei lunged for him again, cocking her gun back and ready to unload it. Just as she was about to point it at him, Daryl stepped in between them and stared down at her. Kei stared bitterly up at him, her gun still pointed at her hunter.

“Move,” She growled. Daryl's stormy eyes stared firmly at her coal black's, his head shaking from side to side.

“No,” He said simply.

“MOVE!” She snapped suddenly, her voice making all of the other men jump. Still, Daryl just stood there shaking his head.

“Girl,” He said firmly, almost like he was scolding her, “No.”

“Then kill him,” She demanded ignoring the stranger as he let out a pained 'No! Please!'

“Take your knife and kill him,” She repeated, staring firmly at Daryl's surprisingly neutral expression.

“Put the gun down first,” He demanded, his gravelly voice harsher than usual. He watched as Kei's nose crinkled and her lips pursed before she caved and put the safety on her gun. She then tossed it aside and Sen went straight for it, frantically picking it up and putting it in his belt. It was then that Daryl stepped forward and cupped her face, holding her there to look at him firmly in the eyes.

“The hell're you doin', huh?” He asked, “Why ya doin' this?”

“Daryl, he has to die,” She whimpered frantically, holding onto his wrists in desperation, “He has to. You have to kill him for me. He can't be here with me. You have to kill him!”

“Why?” Rick asked, Hershel asking the same. Everyone was asking why. Why, why, why. Kei screwed her eyes shut and put her hands to her head, gripping her hair tight as she shook her head.

“You have to kill him!” She let out.

“Alright, yer comin' with me,” Daryl spoke, scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder. Her stomach hit his thick shoulder and she let out a breif “Oomph!” grunting and swearing at herself for being so light compared to him. She writhed around and struggled like a fish on a hook, attempting everything she could to get Daryl to let her go.

“Ain't happenin',” The hunter grunted, holding her tighter so he wouldn't accidentally drop her.

“No! He has to die! Rick! Kill him!” She screamed, writhing against Daryl's hold as he carried her back, “Kill him right now! Kill him!”

“Shut up!” Daryl barked.

She screamed and pounded her fists against Daryl's back, the action seeming to have little effect on him as he carried her to the garage. He ignored her the entire time as he lifted up the garage door amd brought them inside. He yanked the door back down with his free hand and engulfed them in instant darkness. Kei finally went limp as she felt him lower her to the ground. She quickly regained her footing and lunged forward, knocking into his thick body.

“Move!” She barked, “I'm gonna kill him!”

“Why?” Daryl asked.

“Because! He has to die!” She snapped.

“ _Why?!"_  Daryl asked again, listening as his girl's breathing went from harsh and ragged to complete silence in an instant. She let out a whimper and her breathing grew ragged again, but not because she was angry, because she was on the verge of crying. Daryl listened closely and felt something hard press against his chest, a pair of arms wrapping around his waist.

“Because he hurt me,” She mumbled, choking out a sob as tears spilled onto his shirt, “He'll hurt me again. He'll hurt us.”

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, placing a hand protectively on her head. Her tiny chest heaved against his own as she tried to calm her breathing. After a few minutes of silence, Daryl finally spoke up,

“Shaw...he the guy who raped ya last year?”

She nodded her head, suddenly realizing it was dark and letting out a weak, “Yes.”

“Are ya sure?” The hunter asked. She nodded her head again, “Yes.”

“How?” He asked her.

“Because I marked him,” She answered, lifting her head and looking up even though she couldn't see anything, “I marked him on his forehead, Daryl. I swear I did. I swear—”

She felt a rough hand gently run through her hair, Daryl letting out a faint “Shhhh,” over her hysterics. Her eyes fluttered shut as a pair of lips pressed against her forehead.

“I believe ya.”

 

Hershel placed a hand over Kei's moist forehead before looking down at her. The medicine had finally taken effect and she was fast asleep on her bed, tears still managing to form at the corner of her eyes. Even after calming down from her manic episode, she was still upset.

Daryl watched closely from the doorway of her cell, the rest of his group doing the same.

“She alright?”

“She'll be out for a couple hours,” Hershel informed, turning around in his seat, “Now, what about Shaw?”

“Dago,” Daryl corrected, “The guy held her and the wolves hostage for nine months. Did things to 'em. Say it's pretty clear what we should do.”

“Are you sure it's the same guy?” Carol asked, worry etched on her face and voice, “I mean, what are the odds?”

“Even if it is the guy, how would we really know?” Maggie asked, “He says he's never met her before.”

“Well he's lyin',” Daryl growled, his thumb instantly going to his mouth as he chewed on the nail, “She said she marked him on the forehead before she escaped. Said it's pretty distinct.”

“What kind of a mark? Like a scar?” Glenn asked him, watching as he nodded. The young hunter looked over Rick, his stormy eyes narrowed,

“What do ya wanna do?”

Rick could see it behind his eyes. Daryl was ready and willing to whatever the leader's call was, but he was just itching for it to be in his and Kei's favor. He wanted him dead, but if Rick said he lived, then he lived. The Daryl he knew 2 years ago would've grabbed an axe and hacked his head off by now, But this one waited, and watched, and held back every animal-like attribute he had until it was time to lash out.

Rick turned his head and stared down at the girl in bed, the image of her wild and desperate face still fresh in his memory. He could still hear her desperate cries for the leader to kill him.

“Let's see if his story checks out,” He announced, looking over to Daryl with a light nod. The hunter nodded and followed closely behind his leader, one hand clenched to a fist, the other gripping tight onto his hunting knife.

 

Shaw cradled his bandaged arm and held it close, jumping slightly at the sound of the cellblock door unlocking and opening up. Three men stepped through briskly, stopping in front of him and staring him down with their piercing stares. He recognized Glenn and Rick right away, but the third one—the man with shaggy hair and dirty skin, he didn't recognize him at all. The man paced slightly behind Rick, eyeing the stranger the entire time like a wolf ready to pounce. He looked feral, like a dog just hanging on the edge of it's leash.

“How's that arm?” Rick asked, ignoring Daryl's behaviour and putting the stranger right on the spot again. The old biker held his arm and narrowed his eyes up at Rick, recoiling slightly in suspicion.

“Doc over there said it was just a knick,” He mumbled, looking over to the cellblock bitterly, “You talk to that girl yet? I'd say she owes me quite an apology.”

“She doesn't owe you shit,” Daryl rasped, earning a dark look from the stranger as he whipped his head in his direction.

“What you say to me, boy?” He asked, “You see what she did to me?! Shot me for no reason! No damn reason at all!”

“Say she had a damn good reason to shoot ya sorry ass!” Daryl barked, “I'm only sorry she missed!”

“The hell're you sayin'?!” The stranger spat, eyeing the hunter as he continued to pace and snarl at him, “I ain't taking this shit from a little spitfuck like you! You get the hell outta here!”

“Alright enough!” Rick barked, silencing the two instantly. Shaw continued to eye the hunter bitterly before his attention went over to Rick, the leader hovering over him with his hand on his pistol,

“You know why she shot you?”

The stranger stared firmly at the man and shook his head,

“No.”

“You don't have the slightest clue,” The leader asked.

“No,” Shaw repeated, pointing over at the cellblock, “I never even seen that girl in my life before. Not ever!”

He stared up at Rick and saw his blue eyes flutter to the concrete before staring back at him,

“She says she knows you,” He stated.

“She doesn't,” Shaw replied.

“Guessin' the wolves do too,” Rick remarked, “The way they tried to attack ya like that...”

“Wolves ain't got not reason to lie,” Daryl added in,“They never act that way 'round new people we bring in. They remember him.”

Rick stared down at the biker firmly with raised brows, waiting for Shaw's reaction. The biker's lip trembled and pursed into a thin line as he dipped his head low, shaking it firmly and denying it yet again. It was then that Rick suddenly crouched over and got into his face, making the survivor jump in shock. The leader had transformed, going from trusting and firm to dark and threatening within seconds.

“Last year Kei was taken in by a gang of bikers called the Iron Horsemen,” He growled, getting up into Shaw's face as he attempted to keep eye contact with him, “They kept her and the wolves hostage, tortured them, beat them within an inch of their lives.”

The stranger squirmed and turned his head away, chanting over and over “no, no, no” as Rick went on with his accusation. The leader's expression grew darker as he went on,

“Kei said that one guy in particular chained her up like an animal and raped her, _more than once_ ,” His face twisted into an animalistic snarl as he hissed at the squeamish biker, “She said that guy was you.”

“No!” Shaw let out, whipping his head forward to stare at the leader, “She's lyin'! That bitch is lyin'! I never did such a—”

“Take off the bandana then,” Rick said, watching as fear spiked behind the biker's eyes.

“No,”

“If Kei's lying and you've never met her like you say, then you have nothin' to hide,” Rick reasoned, staring at him firmly as his lips curled, “Take it off.”

Shaw rapidly shook his head and moved to get up, but was suddenly forced back down as two rough hands gripped onto his shoulders. He looked up into the narrowed eyes of the feral hunter as he was suddenly pinned down against the wall. Panic then struck him as Rick reached out for the top of his head. He whipped it sharply from side to side, writhing his whole body around as he attempted to avoid the hands that tried to latch onto his bandana. It didn't take long before one large hand suddenly came down and smacked him so hard upside the head, it made him see hot white for a moment.

While in his breif daze Glenn frantically latched onto the bandana and ripped it off, showing the three men just what Kei had promised. Gnarled pink lines stretched out across his sweaty forehead, the sunlight shining through the prison window bearing down on them. Daryl's eyes fluttered across the message, his jaw bobbing heavily as anger burned at the pit of his stomach.

**RAPIST.**

The hunter bent over and got in real close to Dago. He stared firmly into his eyes, his forehead practically crushing up against the biker's.

“Did you touch my girl?” He asked, his hand instantly latching onto the man's leather vest. He watched as Dago shook his head and attempted to clear his cluttered brain before opening his mouth,

“N—” He let out a sharp hiss as his body was pulled forward and quickly shoved back. His head smacked against the wall and the biker's vision flashed white, pain shooting up down his spine as Daryl continued to harass him into confession.

“Did you fuckin' touch her?!” He spat.

“No!” Dago yelled, his head flinging to the side as a large fist smashed into his jaw. Glenn and Rick instantly stepped back as Daryl swung his fist across Dago's jaw a second time,

“Did you hurt her?!” He asked again.

“No!” Dago answered, earning another hit. And that's how it went for the first couple of minutes. Daryl would ask him the question, and Dago would deny it. Question. Denial. Hit. Question. Denial. Hit. Dago's stubborn and fearful soul shouted for his body and mind not to give up, never to give in. His brain however was screaming agony, and his whole body was saying the same thing. He couldn't hold out. It was painful. It was tiring. All he had to do was say it. One word, and he would stop. Or would he? One word was all it took. 'No' meant more pain, worse pain. 'Yes', well, Yes could mean more pain, or no more pain, or—if the hunter was crazy enough, death.

There was no winning for him.

Dago opened his mouth to speak when it was met with another large fist. This one managed to knock a tooth loose, and send a little bit of blood flying from his lip.

“DID YOU FUCKING HURT HER?!” Daryl barked.

“Yes!” Dago shouted finally, grunting as a hand pulled him up by the hair and yanked his head back, forcing him to stare up at the feral hunter.

“Say it,” He growled, watching as blood dribbled out of the biker's mouth. Dago struggled to move his jaw.

“I...I hurt her,” He gasped, coughing and sputtering on his own blood, “I hurt her. I hurt her. I—”

His world suddenly shifted as Daryl shoved him over, his lanky body hitting the dirty prison floor with a hard thud. He watched as Daryl, Glenn, and Rick's boots scuffed across the floor, heading back towards the cellblock.

“Come on, Daryl,” He heard Glenn mutter.

“We'll talk to the others, try to decide what to do with him,” Rick assured.

That name. He'd heard it before. Daryl. Daryl. He heard it a number of times. Usually in the form of a bitter shout, a threat that often escaped from the lips of a pretty girl's mouth.

“Daryl,” He huffed out, smiling and wiping the blood off his nose with his sleeve, “Daryl...Dixon...Right?”

Daryl and Rick both stopped in their tracks, Glenn only stopping after a few more steps.

“She talked about you a lot,” Dago scoffed, thinking back on all the empty threats his little Japanese pixie would often shout at him, “All those months she was holed up with us...It was 'Daryl' this and 'Daryl' that...”

The hunter turned around slowly, the bitter snarl never leaving his face as he eyed the blood-covered biker struggling to get up off the floor. He watched as the guy finally managed to get to his feet; a smug, toothy grin on his bloody mouth.

“Yeah, she talked about ya,” He mused, wiping the blood off his chin, “...Well, more like screamed. You shoulda heard her...”

The biker looked forward and his eyes widened, thrown off at how fast Daryl was as he charged up to him. He stumbled back and recoiled a little as Daryl crushed his body with is own, leaning in and giving the guy the darkest and most foul of stares. He was like an alpha in this moment, butting his head against the more submissive one in this one-sided match. Dominance was his right now. He owned it. And had no intention of giving it up. He stared at Dago the entire time, hell-fire in his his narrow stormy blues. They bored daggers into Dago's light greens, and they impulsively fell to the floor in submission. Dominance was his right now.

Dago could hear Daryl's breathing, heavy and ragged through his nose as he dug his dirty forehead into the biker's scarred one. The biker kept his eyes glued to the concrete, doing everything he could to avoid the hunter's intense stare. He didn't know why. Were this any other place before the world ended, he liked to think that he could overcome this guy and beat some sense into him. But the world had ended, and the hunter seemed to fit right in it. He adapted, and he made it his. He wasn't afraid of walkers or people, and that freaked Dago out. Everything about Daryl was freaking him out. He didn't seem afraid of anything. There was no fear in him, not of Dago, not of man, probably not even of God.

“That's _my_ girl that ya raped, you sick piece of shit,” Daryl growled suddenly, his voice low as he kept his forehead crushed up against Dago's, “You know that? Huh?”

He shifted his head around, attempting to capture Dago's eyes and hold them there, making him stare right at him and let him know that he wasn't fucking around. The biker had made a huge mistake last year, and now it was time for him to pay for it.

“Ya hurt somethin' that belongs to me,” Daryl seethed, his low voice vibrating into a snarl.

“Ya hurt one of our family,” Rick added, Dago's eyes flicking over to him before looking right at the ones right in front of him. Daryl leaned in further and Dago's muscles tensed up even more. The guy looked like he was about to open his mouth and tear out his throat.

“Yer gonna fuckin' pay for what you did,” The hunter hissed, his gravelly voice making Dago's heart race and his fear truly spike, “Swear to god, right here, I'm gonna fuck up your life for what you did to her.”

He saw no lie behind the hunter's eyes, and it sent a cold terror down his aching spine. He didn't move an inch. He didn't dare to breathe. Every muscle in his body froze as Daryl growled and snarled viciously like an animal without even making a sound.

It was then the biker flinched as he was suddenly pulled forward and shoved back into the wall. His head smacked back into the concrete just hard enough to make him see black, and within seconds he crumpled to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all see this week's episode? Angry Daryl = meeoowww! am i right?! Hahaha.  
> Everyone on tumblr was just going like [George Takei voice] "Oh myyyy!" all over the place lolol.  
> Well, that's all I have for you guys today. I'm off to my english class to do (gasp) MORE WRITING!  
> fun on a bun.  
> I hope everyone's doing well!! xx


	40. Shi (Four)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This you fighting back? Huh? Bringin' in ya boyfriend to yer dirty work?”
> 
> He watched as Kei turned her head forward and continued pacing.
> 
> “I thought it would be kinder,” She replied simply, turning her head to look over at him, “Would you rather be alone in a room with me again?”

Sen put two cigarettes between his lips and lit them both with his lighter. He let out a smoke-filled sigh and took one out of his mouth, reaching out and handing it over to Kei. The girl took it with an unsteady hand and shakily put it to her lips, taking a large drag before exhaling deeply. She closed her eyes and let out a shaky, smoke-filled sigh, trying to calm her nerves.

“I think you need bud,” Sen remarked suddenly. Kei opened her eyes and and the two of them laughed lightly. She shook her head with a smile, putting her cigarette back to her lips.

“I think I do too,” She replied honestly. She watched as Sen shifted in the corner of her eye, laying back flat across the courtyard pavement. He dangled the cigarette lightly between his lips, his dark eyes looking up at the cloudless sky.

“Too bad I got dried out months ago,” He sighed, “I miss being high.” 

“I know,” She sighed out, flicking the excess ash from her cigarette. She put it back to her lips and looked out towards the lower courtyard, trying to think of anything other than the snake currently residing in their nest.

“Hey you think Rick would let us grow some?” He asked thoughtfully, smiling as Kei whipped her head around and looked down at him.

“What?!” 

“Just like a little plant, not like a garden or anything,” He replied simply, laughing as Kei reached over and punched him in the arm, “I'd keep it away from the kids!” 

“No! It's illegal!” She remarked.

“Nothing's illegal now! There's no government,” His eyes widened and he gasped, his smile growing bigger, “ _There's no rules._ ”

“Oh no—” 

“Keiko, there's no rules! We can do whatever we want!” He chirped in excitement,“We can j-walk, we can shoplift, we can run around naked. We can pee where we want!”

Kei shook her head and laughed at her best friend's mind-blowing realization. Sen's laughter quickly died down as he pulled the cigarette from his lips and let out an airy sigh, watching as the smoke cloud drifted up in the air.

“I'm sorry for pulling my gun on you,” He heard her say. The guy just shrugged his shoulders, his expression calm,

“Water under the bridge,” He said simply.

“I really am though,” She spoke, “You're my best friend, and I shouldn't have done that...”

Sen kept his eyes glued to the cloudless sky. He just stared at it, waiting for a bird, a leaf, a whiff of cloud, hell, anything to just fly by once.

“Well...To be fair, I did crash your car,” He admitted slowly, the smile forming on his face, “On the way home from Miami—” 

“That was you?!” She let out, her eyes widening in shock. Sen nodded rapidly before curling into a ball, protecting himself as Kei reached over and started hitting him on the back and shoulders.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” He let out with a laugh.

“You asshole! My parents grounded me for two months!” She laughed, “I missed the Sublime concert because of you!” 

“Water under the bridge!” He let out, uncurling himself as Kei finally ceased to stop beating him.

“I can't believe you let me think I drove home drunk,” She spoke while putting her cigarette back between her lips, “I was really upset about that, Sen!”

“I know, and I felt bad,” Sen assured as he sat back up, “But I had never seen you cry before and it was weird and enthralling, and—”

“Puppy pile!” A sweet little voice chirped out. Sen and Kei whipped around to see two little girls laughing their heads off at the far end of the courtyard. In front of them a few feet ahead were a small herd of wolf puppies, and they were barreling towards Sen and Kei with tails wagging and tongues hanging out. The lanky Asian boy quickly scrambled to his feet with a loud, “oh hell no!” 

“Look out Sen!” The little 10 year old Mika chirped. The little bond let out a bubbly laugh and hopped up and down in excitement. She and her older sister Lizzie watched as Sen began running for his life to avoid the small horde of wolf cubs. 

“Go get him, Lor! Go on Chiyo!” She cheered.

“Get him Shadow, Get him!” Mika laughed, “Look, Lizzie! Look! Eli's almost got him. Go Eli!” 

“Quit cheering you two! They're evil!” Sen let out, earning loud laughs from the girls as they watched him hop up on a dumpster. All the wolf cubs herded around and attempted to leap up on the dumpster with him, all of them toppling over and piling up on one another. 

Kei watched them with a fond smile and took a large drag from her smoke before stubbing it out on the ground. She let out a smokey exhale and turned around as the cell block doors opened up. Everyone turned to watch as Rick stepped out, his walk firm and his stature authoritative.

“Girls, I'm gonna need you to pile in,” He announced, “Head back to your cell block, okay?”

“Can we bring the puppies with?” Lizzie asked.

“They need to stick close to their mother right now,” He answered with a light smile, “But I'll let you help me bring 'em in.”

Both Mika and Lizzie nodded with bright grins and chirped for the puppies to come follow them. One by one they followed the girls along like little ducklings, Shadow lingering to a stop once he made it Rick's side. The leader looked down at his large golden eyes and his lips pursed, tearing his attention away and looking over towards the girls,

“You forgot one!” He called, watching as Mika turned and let out an excited, “Ah!”. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called Shadow's name. The wolf cub didn't respond right away. He just looked up at Rick, and Rick just looked away, refusing to make eye contact with him a second time. He could hear the little cub's breathy whimpers and squeaks, and felt it's skinny body brush up against his leg, but he did nothing to respond. After the third call, and with Kei's help a firm whistle, Shadow finally gave up and darted off to be with his brothers and sisters. The leader felt his muscles relax, and he even let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding onto. He looked over and watched as Sen lept down from the dumpster. Kei got up from her seat on the pavement and walked over to Rick, looking at him intently as he scratched the back of his head.

“Well?”

“It's him,” He answered slowly, “We saw the mark on his forehead.”

Kei nodded firmly, her lips pursing, “So what's going to happen?” 

“What do you want to happen?” The leader asked.

“The truth?” Kei asked with raised brows, watching as Rick nodded, “I want him dead.”

She watched as Rick's eyes flicked to the pavement, his head slowly bobbing in a nod before dipping low. He pinched the bridge of his nose in thought and let out a rigid sigh.

“I think you should go check on Daryl,” He remarked, tossing a finger over towards the cell block, “Carol's...havin' a hard time calmin' him down. I think he needs you.” 

The girl nodded lightly without a word and slipped away towards the cell block, leaving Rick there in the middle of the courtyard with his thoughts. The leader shut his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to find peace and quiet somewhere in his cluddered head.

“Adorable little fuckers are getting on my nerves,” 

Rick opened his eyes again and shot a look over to his left, seeing Sen with a half smile on his face and a cigarette in his mouth as he laughed. 

“Ah I don't know, I kind of like them, but they're crazy,” He continued, smiling lightly as he walked up next to the leader, “So, what's the plan?” 

“Plan?” Rick asked.

“Are we kicking the dude's ass, or what?” Sen asked, “Is Daryl 'taking him on a hunting trip' out in the woods? Are we letting him go?” 

“Kei wants him dead,” Rick explained, “Daryl too.”

Sen nodded in understanding, raising his brows at the leader, “Do you?”

He watched as Rick dipped his head in thought, letting out a sigh through his nose.

“He did some really sick stuff to her,” He mentioned slowly, “Really sick...and for that long I...I can't imagine...if that were Carol, or Beth, or Maggie...”

“Or Michonne...” Sen finished, the corner of his mouth perking up at the leader, “...You two married yet?” 

He listened as Rick let out an airy scoff and shook his head.

“It's not like that,” He assured, looking back over at the smug 25-year-old.

“It should be,” Sen remarked, smirking as he pulled the filter from his lips and flicked it away, “You're always at half-mass whenever she's in the room.”

A small laugh escaped Rick's mouth and a grin couldn't help but stretch across his face. He shook his head lightly and stared over at Sen with raised brows, “You always checkin' me out?” 

“Just your crotch,” Sen joked, earning another small laugh from the leader. The two of them snickered lightly at each other, Rick looking away for a moment before looking back at Sen. The guy held out his pack of cigarettes and the leader politely turned them down.

“Don't smoke anymore,” He said, smiling as Sen let out an audible groan in an awkward cracked voice.

“You're _killing_ me, smalls,” He sighed, pulling another out for himself, “No fun at all.” 

Rick simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders, turning around to look back out at the crop fields. He could see a small group of walkers herding around the area near the pigpen, their bony hands clawing and latching onto the metal.

“Hey so can I grow pot here?” Sen asked, making Rick turn around and stare at him with raised eyebrows,

“What?” 

“Can I grow here?” Sen repeated, taking the cigarette out of his mouth to explain better, “You know, grow some bud, ganga, Mary J—”

“You serious?” Rick asked, cackling at the ridiculousness of his question. Sen nodded with a growing smile, shrugging as he lit his cigarette and took a small drag.

“Yeah man, why not?” He asked, breathing in and letting out a smokey sigh.

“It's against the law,” Rick answered, the laugh still in his voice.

“There's no more government,” Sen reasoned.

“I'm still a cop,” Rick spoke.

“And I'm already in prison,” Sen retorted, smiling victoriously and sticking his tongue out as Rick shook his head. The leader smiled and knocked shoulders with him, letting out a “No.” and laughing as Sen let out another groan in pretend disappointment.

  
“Knock knock,” Kei called, watching from the doorway as Daryl paced around their cell. She could practically see the hunter's eyes burning red as he looked over to her.

“You talk to Rick?” His gravelly voice rasped. The girl nodded lightly with a small “yep”, folding her arms and watching as Daryl continued pacing from one end of the room to the other. Her dark eyes fell to the floor before looking back over at him,

“Carol told me you nearly smashed his face in,” She remarked.

“Didn't like how he spoke about ya,” He admitted, his jaw bobbing as he continued to pace, “Wanted to kick his teeth in, watch him choke on 'em. The fuckin' piece'uh—”

“Hey,” She interrupted, her voice stopping him in his tracks, “Come here a second.” The hunter turned around slowly and stalked up to her, hovering over her slightly as she placed both her hands lovingly on the sides of his neck. She looked him over and could tell he was still in aggressive mode, just itching to hit something again (preferably Dago's face). His muscles were tense and his eyes were still narrowed, his breathing still harsh through his nose. Her lips twisted the side a little as she ran her hands up and down his chest and then over his shoulders, listening and watching him closely as his aggressive demeanor started to chip away.

“Did he hurt you?” She asked softly, her eyes fluttering over him to make sure. Daryl let out a scoff in his throat,

“He wishes...” He mumbled, his eyes falling down to the bruised knuckles on his right hand, “....Stings...” 

He saw Kei's hands slowly take his and she brought them up to her face inspect them. She gently ran her fingers over his knuckles and stopped when he flinched, his nose crinkling only slightly at the pain. He watched as she leaned over and placed a small kiss on each knuckle, her coal black eyes never leaving his stormy blues for a second. She gently held his hand and placed it against her cheek, shutting her eyes to relish in the feel of his rough palm. Daryl took his free arm and carefully wrapped it around her waist, pulling her close and holding her as she fully wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face into the side of his neck muttered a small “Thank you,” under her breath.

 

Five people sat around a table in the prison library, the official hub for the newly founded council. The council was a new form of leadership, governing over the group and deciding on what's best for them. It consisted of Hershel, Daryl, Glenn, Carol, and Sasha. Michonne was on it as well, whenever she was around. More often than none she was outside the prison walls, still hell-bent as ever on hunting down the Governor and anyone with him. Rick would often peek in at times and listen to the decision making, but no once would he officially voice his opinion or participate in making a decision.

“So, what do we do?” Sasha asked, looking to each of them with firmness in her dark eyes.

“We can't keep him here with us,” Carol voiced with a shake of her head, “Can't we take him out somewhere? Give him a little food and some supplies?” 

“He already knows where we're staying,” Glenn remarked, looking to everyone breifly, “If we kick him out he might try and break back in.” 

“S'not safe if he stays,” Daryl rasped, his jaw bobbing as he made eye contact with everyone, “Might hurt any one of us, 'specially the women. Y'all heard what he did to Kei. Do any of ya really want that around?” 

“So we kill him then?” Hershel asked the hunter, “Just like that? In cold blood?” 

Daryl shook his head, “It ain't cold.”

“Daryl, be reasonable,” The old farmer urged, “We took this guy in, gave him shelter, and now we're just gonna kill him? You see how that sounds?” 

“Don't matter how it sounds," Daryl said with a firm shake of his head, "The guy did what he did and now he's gotta pay." 

Hershel and everyone else looked over at him, watching as his jaw bobbed and his eyes fell to the table in front of him,

“It ain't about gettin' revenge,” The hunter rasped, “S'about balancin' the books...The shit that he did to her, and to the wolves, for all those months? It ain't excusable.”

Everyone exchanged grim glances as silence fell over the small council. 

“He hurt three of our own,” Daryl reminded, “That don't earn him the right to live happy with us.” 

Tension was high in the air as no one said a word or proposed an alternative solution. Hershel stared down at the wood table while Carol and Sasha exchanged glanced. Daryl and Glenn looked to each other and the hunter could see that Glenn secretly agreed with him. After what happened to Maggie with the Governor, he didn't trust Dago one bit. He didn't want him anywhere near Maggie, or any one of their own for that matter.

“Okay,” Sasha breathed, her big dark eyes fluttering to the table, “Well...If there are no other propositions, then I think we all know what needs to be done...”

 

[Kei ](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=102425584)wiped her sweaty forehead as she trudged up the gravel path with Rick, the two of them carrying buckets of fresh picked vegetables from the garden. Her eyes kept focus on her sandles as she walked along, trying to get the image of Dago's smile as he laughed next to Hershel out of her mind. She couldn't believe it. After all this time without him, he managed to snake his way back into her life. The very thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. The fact that he was here...

“The council's decidin' on what to do with him,” She heard Rick say, “Don't worry. He's not stayin' here. He's leavin', one way or another.” 

“How come you're not up there?” She asked curiously, watching as Rick kept looking on ahead, never turning once to look at her. She was genuinely curious. He didn't appear at council meetings anymore. He never really told the others what to do anymore. He rarely had a final say in anything, anymore. And he seemed okay with that. Instead of leading like usual, he was often out in the fields, tending to the crops and the animals. Instead of leading everyone like usual, he often hid away and played farmer. Kei wasn't sure if she liked this new role.

“Sen and I can do this,” She spoke out, her eyes pointing down to the bucket in her hand, “His mom was a big gardening buff. She'd make us help her all the time.” 

She stared over at the leader intently as they continued up the path, his eyes still focused on the gate that lead back to the courtyard. 

“...Well...many hands make light work,” He said simply. Kei's eyebrows knitted together as he turned his head and smiled lightly at her, looking back at the fence as Sen opened it up. The lanky Asian greeted Kei with a smile and started walking alongside her, leaning over and staring curiously into Rick's bucket. 

“Bring me something good?” He asked.

“Oh yeah,” Rick answered, laughing lightly as Sen put a hand on his chest and started to fake swoon.

“Is it diamonds?” The 25 year old gushed. 

“Cucumbers,” The sherriff answered, smiling as Sen gasped and fanned himself.

“Mercy me! You sure know how to spoil a man,” He chirped with a laugh. He turned his head over towards Kei and slung an arm over her shoulder, holding her close with a cheeky grin,“This means you'll make me _sunomono*_ , right? Because you love me?”

“Fine,” Kei sighed, giggling as Sen pressed his lips on her cheek, “Be sure put rice vinegar on the list. I'll tell Daryl to keep an eye out on their next run.” 

“You see this?” Sen said over to Rick, “This girl, total wife material, I swear.” 

He placed another hard kiss on Kei's cheek before tearing away to go find the grocery list, leaving Kei and Rick behind to continue their task. The two of them let out a light laugh, one that faded when the cellblock door opened up and Daryl stepped outside. He looked over to Kei and Rick from afar and watched as Rick took up Kei's bucket of vegetables, leaving her free so he could take them to the living area in the courtyard. He watched as Kei gave their leader a small one-armed hug before breaking away and rushing over towards him. Daryl walked down the steps and met her just outside the metal corridor's entrance. He stared down into his girl's big eyes, the dark pools having a small spark of hope behind them. He chewed on his lip a little as his eyes broke away from her own, his heart thumping hard behind his thick chest. He had to just come out and say it. There was no other way to word it.

“We're lettin' him go...” He admitted, Kei's small smile dropping instantly, “...They deci—”

“They can't!” Kei snapped, her mouth and heart dropping simultaneously as she shook her head, “Daryl! They can't!”

“Girl—”

“He's just going to come back here and try to fucking kill us!” She let out, throwing an arm towards the cellblock,“We can't just let him go! Not after what he fucking did to me and the wol—”

“Girl!” Daryl spoke out harshly, placing his hands on her face and keeping her there to lock eyes with him, “Listen. The others said whatever happens to him outside the prison fence is what happens.” 

He stared firmly into Kei's worried eyes and watched as they grew firmer and darker by the second. His hands traveled up to her scalp, his fingers threading in her hair.

“Ya hear what I'm sayin'?” He said slowly, “Whatever happens to him outside the fence is what happens.” 

He watched as his girl gave him a light nod, her eyes never leaving his.

“Daryl,”

“We're goin' huntin' tomorrow,” He asserted, “You and me.”

 

Dago dabbed a corner of his bandana on his injured lip, hissing at the pain. Hershel was kind enough to give him a couple of pills to help with the pain. To be honest however, the biker felt he needed the whole bottle after the number Daryl did on him.

“Fuckin' hick,” He grumbled bitterly, thinking back on that stocky hunter with the crossbow. He was as nuts as the girl he was so eager to defend. The way he looked at Dago, the fire in his eyes, they were just like Kei's. The biker scoffed. They were a perfect match, those two. A perfect match that belonged in the psych ward. 

His hearing perked up when he heard footsteps coming in from his left. They sounded like boots, and they stopped just outside the door that seperated him from Cellblock C. When he didn't hear Daryl's cussing or wolves barking or Rick's authoritative voice, he knew who it was, and it made a corner of his mouth twitch.

“Gotta hand it to your fuckin' hillbilly boyfriend,” He griped, using his bandana to wipe his sweaty forehead, “He sure knows how to pack a punch...”

Silence. His eyes flicked over to the cell door, looking over at the girl standing behind it. [She](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=104258137) still looked the same, if not thinner with those baggy shorts and pajama top on. Her dark hair was still cropped just above her bony shoulders, and her face was still blank. Her demeanor was eerily neutral as well, considering she had attempted to blow his head off just this morning. She just stared over at him, tilting her head like she was staring over at a strange animal. 

“So, you come to kill me? Huh?” He stared bitterly over at her, watching as she tilted her head quizzically, “You come to even things up, after all that I did for ya?” 

“I wouldn't exactly call 'chaining me up and raping me' a service,” The girl replied, her voice surprisingly soft and calm. Her dark eyes fell onto the bars of the cell door, staring at all the rusted splotches and cracked chips in the paint. 

“How did you find this place?” She asked, her dark eyes flicking over to the man behind bars. 

“I stumbled on it, smart one,” He answered bitterly, shaking his head and scoffing, “I had a whole herd of those flesh-eaters after me, I saw the extra setup outside and thought ' _shit, that ain't usually in a prison, must be occupied._ '” 

He stared over at Kei and watched as an odd smile slowly stretched across her lips. This one seemed much too happy, and it made his eyes narrow as she nodded.

“Of course,” She said simply, turning on her heel and starting to walk alongside the cell door. Dago's light eyes followed the Asian girl's tall, scrawny frame as she paced from one end of the room to the other, much like an animal in a cage. She didn't seem intimidated by him. She didn't even seem pissed at him. She was calm and she was collected. He almost mistook her seemingly cheery behavior for happiness, but he knew that wasn't the case. 

She was teasing him. 

She was taunting him from behind the cell doors, dangling her freedom and her group's loyalty and her protective boyfriend in front of him. She was trying to rile him up, give her an excuse to call Daryl in again. She was dangling the idea of control, something he was starving for, and something she had, in front of him. This thought alone made the lava pit bubbling deep down in his core start to rage.

The bitch.

“Didn't seem to mind my hospitality all that much,” He called out, his words making her stop in her tracks, “You were always so quick to give up a fight.” 

He watched as her slender fingers wrapped around a bar on the cell door, her knuckles growing white. She turned her head and stared over at Dago, a mocking smile on her face.

“Only because I was too weak to fight back,” She replied, "And options tend to grow slim when there's a gun pointed at your skull."

Dago let out an audible scoff.

“This you fighting back? Huh? Bringin' in ya boyfriend to yer dirty work?” 

He watched as Kei turned her head forward and continued pacing. 

“I thought it would be kinder,” She replied simply, turning her head to look over at him, “Would you rather be alone in a room with me again?” 

He let out a rough laugh.

“Oh definitely, _sweetheart_ ,” He said, staring at her bitterly as she smiled and continued pacing, “Of course, I'd prefer it if you were all nice and tied up. That always seemed to get you off.” 

She stopped pacing again and instantly latched onto a bar tight, the smirk on Dago's face growing as he watched her muscles tense.

“I could've sworn I felt ya cum under me a few times,” He sneered, “Even after all that screaming and cryin' for Daryl... I saw it on your face, your jaw all slack and your pussy givin' me that—”

He stopped when he heard her laugh. It wasn't forced and mocking, or even sarcastic and condescending. It actually sounded genuine, like something was genuinely funny. He watched as her shoulders bobbed and her body shook as she laughed, her big toothy smile stretched across her face. She wiped her eyes a little before her laughter died down. She then resumed her pacing, Dago's eyes following her closely as her bony fingers danced over the bars on the cell door. 

“You're _funny_ , Dago...” She admitted, the smile still on her face as she shook her head, “You were always so funny...but painfully stupid.” 

“Could say the same about you,” The biker seethed, Kei's head tilting to the side as her lips formed a thoughtful pout.

“Oh?” 

“Hershel told me the group's lettin' me go,” Dago said, his tone attempting to sound menacing, but failing as a lofty giggle escaped the girl's lips. She stopped pacing once again and turned to face the biker, a sweet smile on her face as she held up her other arm and showed him her fist.

“Let's hope you can run fast,” 

Dago watched as she drew her hand back a little and underhand-tossed something through the cell doors. Four little objects flew in and landed onto the concrete, harshly bouncing across the floor a few times before rolling and stopping a few feet away him. 

He stared down at the objects with furrowed brows.

Four rocks laid spread out around him.

“ _Never give a Japanese person four of anything for a gift,”_ Keiko chirped, sucking on the filter of her cigarette as Dago took back the four rings. 

“ _Why not?” He asked curiously, reaching over and taking the shot glass off the bar. He downed it quickly and flipped the glass over, setting it on the counter lip-side down. Kei watched him for a second before looking away and taking her cigarette out from between her lips._

“ _In tradition it's a sign, a bad sign,” She explained, tilting her head up and exhaling smoke into the air. The biker's eyes fell to her exposed neck—a thick, belt-sized purplish-red line running across her skin. He reached up and gently rubbed at it with his fingertips, smirking as her neck muscles tensed under his touch._

“ _What kind of a sign?” He purred, looking up at the girl smoking and sitting on his lap. She took another hearty drag from her cigarette and blew it out into the air. She then turned her head and looked down at him, a syrupy-sweet smile on her face._

“ _Death.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sunomono - Japanese cucumber salad that's tangy and sweet and FREAKING DELICIOUS OKAY TRUST ME.
> 
>  **oh, and to explain the whole "Four" thing:** A friend of mine told me that in Japanese tradition 4 and 9 are considered unlucky numbers, so it's impolite to give gifts that are in sets of four or nine. Oh, and also because the word _shi_ (which is the word for "4" in japanese) also means "Death". 
> 
> The more you know! ^.^
> 
> oh, and p.s: The Walking Dead comes on in 4 hours, yay!
> 
> oh and pps: I promise this will tie in with the first episode of season four, promise. don't worry. ;)


	41. The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Just plannin' on gettin' a head start is all,” The biker said to them simply, “I ain't got no intention on hurtin' any one of ya. Just doin' what I'm supposed to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all see last sunday's episode?!?! It was so insane, i actually screamed at a few parts.  
> I don't know why i put myself through these feelings every sunday night. it always destroys me lol.  
> Oh! And thanks to everyone who has been messaging me on tumblr and reading my story! Over 1,000 hits, wow!  
> I'm glad you all are enjoying it. ^.^

“Are we going to do it today?” Kei asked, her fingertips gently tracing the scars on Daryl's collarbone. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat. Daryl stared up at the cracked ceiling, his hand gently running up and down Kei's back. He felt all the ridges and bumps of her spine against his fingers, his hand trailing up and tracing over the tattoo on her back.

“If that's what ya want,” He answered honestly, “I don't want him comin' back here to hurt ya, or anyone else.”

Kei's eyes flitted down to the scars running along his ribs, her fingers tracing over one in particular. It looked like a burn mark.

“He's not going to hurt anyone else,” She said firmly, lifting her head a little to look over at him. She rested her chin on his chest and stared at his whiskery chin with a faint smile, reaching over and gently running her fingers over it. She saw a faint smile appear on Daryl's face before he turned and gently pressed his lips against her finger tips. She let out a giggle and kissed his chest, turning her head and resting on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, shivering slightly at the feel of Daryl's hand running along her arm.

“I shoulda went back,” He admitted in a low mutter, “I would've found ya, kept ya safe...”

She opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyebrows knitting slightly, “You are keeping me safe.”

“I mean back then,” He explained as he impulsively chewed on his lip, “At the farm...I should've went back...”

“Babe, that was so long ago...” Kei muttered.

“Don't matter,” The hunter opined, “Seeing him, hearin' all the shit he said...made me think 'bout it again...”

Kei lifted her head and stared at him, watching as Daryl's eyes stayed glued to the ceiling before they flitted down, his jaw bobbing slightly in thought. She scooted closer and ran a hand through his hair, leaning into his face and gently nuzzling his cheek with her nose.

“Don't blame yourself,” She whispered, “What happened at the farm, it was my decision.”

She shifted and kissed his cheek, her warm breath ticking his skin as she continued to speak,

“Going with Dago's group, it was my decision,” She spoke, watching as Daryl turned his head to look at her, “Through all the shit that happened to me, I managed to find you guys again, and that made it worth it...finding you again made it all worth it.”

She watched as Daryl's eyes fell for a moment, flicking back up to her own as his jaw bobbed in anxiety. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a firm kiss before breaking away to look at him.

“Everything's going to work out,” She whispered softly, “You know that, right?”

Daryl gave her a faint smile and nodded, shutting his eyes as she leaned in and kissed his forehead. Her lips traveled around his face, planting several little kisses on his cheeks and lips. The gesture made his face scrunch and he turned a way with a faint laugh, her nose playfully nuzzling into his neck. She planted a firm kiss there before breaking away and shifting to sit up straight.

“I'm taking a shower,” She announced, a playful smile growing on her face, “Want to share my turn with me?”

A crooked and shy smile stretched across Daryl's face as he nodded.

“Gonna lay in bed a bit more,” He spoke,

“Fine,” She chirped, leaning back down and kissing him on the lips, “Don't make me wait too long.”

Daryl nodded lightly and closed his eyes as a pair of lips gently touched his own again. He watched her stand back up and gather her things; a fresh set of clothes, her shoes, and her bathing towel. She quietly exited their cell and disappeared around the corner, leaving Daryl there on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling as he anxiously chewed on his lip.

“I shoulda went back...” He muttered bitterly to himself.

 

Kei entered the bathrooms with a yawn and stalked over to the showering area. She stepped behind an empty shower station and pulled the plastic curtain aside, placing her clothes and towel down on the chair next to the water barrel. She stripped out of her clothes before grabbing the old water pump handle, pumping it up and down a few times. She shivered and sighed as cold water began pouring down on her from the shower head.

“What I wouldn't give for a hot shower,” She muttered, stepping back so the water could wash over her face. She proceeded with her regular routine; body wash on the skin, shampoo in the hair, scrubbing the dirt and sweat off the skin. The whole shower filled with the scent of fresh flowers and peaches, it put a faint smile on her face. She hummed to herself and shut her eyes as she washed out the soap in her hair, the foamy water cascading down her slick skin. She lathered and washed and scrubbed her thoughts her away. Well, at least tried to. The calming smell of her soaps nor the feel of getting clean did nothing to wash away the thought that today was the the day. Today was the day she and Daryl would hunt―not for deer, or rabbits, but for man. For Dago. He wouldn't get very far, she thought. She was fast and Daryl was a good tracker. She wondered if they should give the biker a couple minutes head start. That _would_ make the chase a little more interesting.

All she could think about now was the hunt. She should bring her bow today. Her gun too. The bow would be a little more fun, she thought. She always did like seeing the arrow fly through the woods before it hit it's target. Daryl would most likely bring his hunting knife, just to stop the guy from turning. She hoped he wouldn't though. A chance at bringing him down a second time, she couldn't pass that up.

The thought of sending an arrow through Dago's body consumed her mind. It consumed her every thought, so much so that when the curtain to her shower was suddenly yanked to the side, she barely had time to react. Her first reaction was to clam up and cower slightly as she attempted to cover herself. Her second was to turn around sharply to yell at the intruder. Her first thought was that it was Daryl messing with her again, like he did every other morning. The second thought was Sen.

When she caught glimpse of the dirty black bandana, her mind instantly went blank. Her muscles froze up, and all thought left her as a pair of large hands dove in and latched themselves onto her mouth.

 

“What are you doing?” Carl asked, watching as Hershel walked along on his new prosthetic leg that Daryl found on a supply run. The old farmer had a box of supplies in his hands, along with a small roll of gauze and some medical tape. He was headed in the security wing's direction, right to where the stranger was being held.

“Just handin' Shaw his supplies, and changin' his bandage,” He replied, stepping up to the cell door. He looked over to the Leader's son, a faint smile on his bushy white beard, “Mind lettin' me in?”

“Dad said we shouldn't go near him anymore,” The teen remarked firmly, his grip on the keys tight.

“He said we're lettin' him go today,” Hershel reminded, “I'm just givin' him his supplies, and preppin' him for the road.”

Carl's lips pursed a little before twisting to the side. He gave the old farmer a light nod before standing up from his seat on the floor. He walked forward and carefully unlocked the cell door, opening it up just wide enough for Hershel to step through. Carl stepped in after him, turning around to lock the door as Hershel set down the box of supplies.

“Thanks, man.” Carl heard the guy mutter.

“It's no problem,”He heard Hershel say, “When you're out there, I wouldn't take any open roads, not unless you have transportation of some kind. You could try Newnan, that's where we were headed originally.”

“I appreciate you doin' this, man,” He heard the stranger mutter.

“It's no problem,” He heard Hershel speak, “I wanted to change yer bandages before you went.”

Carl stuck the key in the keyhole and twisted it, listening to the loud click. Just as he did so, he heard feet suddenly shifting about, and Hershel’s voice as he let out a loud gasp. Dago let out a loud grunt and Carl turned around sharply. He saw Hershel struggling with Dago before the biker lunged forward and pointed something directly under the old man's chin. Carl's eyes widened and he immediately snapped into action, swiftly pulling out his weapon and pointing it right at the biker's skull.

“Don't!” Hershel let out firmly, the pointed object pushing further into the soft flesh under his chin. Carl's bright eyes flicked over to the farmer's, watching as he held a hand out towards him, telling him to stop. Dago slowly stepped forward, keeping his makeshift weapon pointed at Hershel as he slithered his way around the farmer. He pressed his chest up against Hershel's back, the weapon still held at the old farmer's chin. The biker looked over at Carl from behind the Hershel's shoulder, his eyes firm, yet wide.

Carl stared at Dago He had a backpack on his shoulders, and the sharpened end of a plastic spoon pointed right at Hershel's throat. The two of them staggered around in tandem, Dago's arm wrapped around the old farmer's neck tight.

“You slide over that gun now, boy,” Dago seethed, his eyes wild as Carl kept his weapon on him, “Don't do anythin' stupid now!”

Carl maneuvered his gun with his unsteady hands, attempting to point the barrel at a spot that would hit Dago in the head, and miss Hershel at the same time. It was no use. Dago had his head pressed close to Hershel's, if Carl hit one, the bullet would surely hit the other.

The young teen pursed his shaky lips as he slowly lowered his gun in bitter defeat. He carefully set it down and slid it over to Hershel's feet, the two men struggling to kneel together as Hershel carefully picked it up. The old farmer was forced to place the gun in the bikers formerly empty holster before turning around to face Carl. Dago looked over at the young boy as well, watching as his little body visibly shook. Not with fear, surprisingly enough, but with anger. He was angry right now, his blue-green eyes were growing dark and cold with hatred. The look he was giving, it send a cold chill down Dago's spine. He had seen that look once before, but only on a feral girl with wolves for friends.

“Now you unlock that there door over there,” He seethed, pressing the shiv further into Hershel's neck, “Go on now, boy! Unlock it!”

“Okay! Okay! Don't!” Carl let out, noticing a small drop of red seeping onto Hershel's bearded neck. He hastily made his way over to the cell door, grabbing his keys and unlocking it quickly.

“Didn't mean to abuse yer hospitality, doc,” Dago spoke, his voice pointing to the old farmer still in his grasp,“But Kei and her hick boyfriend were plannin' on huntin' me down the minute I was set free...”

He slowly inched his way over to the opened door to the tombs, and once he was through it, he let Hershel go. He pushed the old Veterinarian forward and quickly slammed the cell door shut, watching as Carl stumbled to catch Hershel and keep his footing at the same time. The two prison members stared over at the man behind bars, Carl with utter bitterness, and Hershel with shock.

“Just plannin' on gettin' a head start is all,” The biker said to them simply, “I ain't got no intention on hurtin' any one of ya. Just doin' what I'm supposed to do.”

He stared over at Carl, the 14 year old staring daggers at him in pure hatred. He held up young boy's gun and gave him a small nod.

“Much obliged for the weapon, son,” He said, “Go on and tell yer pop if ya like. I'll be long gone from here.”

And with that he slipped into the darkness, Hershel and Carl listening to the sound of heavy boots as they rushed further and further down the halls.

 

“Gotta say, yer asshole boyfriend's lucky,” Dago said thoughtfully, staring down at Kei's backside she trudged further into the woods, “Gettin' to see that cute little ass of yours every day. 'specially in cute lacy panties, damn.”

“I don't appreciate being _watched_ while I'm changing,” She remarked bitterly, referring to the less than enjoyable moment that involved her [changing](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=105413280&lid=3151632) with a gun pointed to her skull.

“Not by me, anyway, right?” Dago scoffed, “Bet you do it all the time for Cotton-Eyed Joe back there.”

“Well he doesn't usually cuss and point a gun at my head,” She remarked.

“Nah, he just follows yer every beck and call, like a little bitch―” Dago stopped and held his gun out as Kei whipped around sharply, stomping up to him, not caring about the gun pressed firmly into her shoulder.

“Say shit like that again and see what happens,” She growled. Dago's eyebrows raised as she turned around sharply and continued on walking forward, willingly. This whole thing confused him. He was the one with the gun, yet she seemed unafraid of getting shot. She didn't cower and whimper. Hell, she didn't even flinch. She seemed almost aloof, bored even, like she was the one simply throwing him a bone.

His eyebrows knitted together as he continued on, walking behind her with Carl's gun pointed at the center of her back.

“So, _where are you taking me_?” She asked while theatrically holding her arms out.

“Back to my camp,” He answered, Kei letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Yeah, I figured,” She said plainly, “But where? Not at that shitty roadhouse...”

“Nah, nah. It's out in a cozy little neck of the woods somewhere,” Dago said simply, his bright eyes flicking down for a moment before looking at her back, “I wasn't lyin' when I said my boys got attacked. Only three of us made it out. We ran into some people, they took us in, gave us shelter...”

“So you need me to come in and warm their beds, huh?” The girl seethed. Dago let out a scoff.

“While I wish that were true babydoll, that's not it,” The biker assured, “I was sent here, by request.”

Kei knitted her eyebrows, only turning her head slightly as she continued walking forward.

“What?” She asked him, “Who?”

“Supposed to bring ya back to camp,” Dago rambled on, missing her question completely, “The guy told me, 'bring back this Asian girl, thin, pretty face. Do whatever you have to'...didn't think it'd be your crazy ass he was afte―”

He stopped suddenly as Kei whipped around to face him,

“Who is it?!” She snapped, her voice making him jump slightly.

“A-A guy,” He let out hesitantly, “Some random guy, tall with an eye patch, calls himself Phil—”

“—Phillip Blake,” Kei finished, her eyes widening and her heart racing behind her ribs. Dago watched as the girl's big dark eyes slowly traveled to the forest floor. He furrowed in both thought and confusion. She must have known the guy. Judging by the look on her face, he must have fucked up big time with her. He could tell this wasn't going to be a friendly reunion.

“Look, whatever's between you t—”

The man barely had enough time to react before a body charged up to him like a bat out of hell. Dago whipped his gun forward, pointing it directly at her and she stopped in her tracks.

“Where is he?” She growled, growing angrier as Dago only answered with a 'shush', “DAGO, WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!”

“Will you shut yer goddamn mouth?!” Dago bit through his teeth, tossing an arm out towards one end of the forest, “You wanna bring a whole herd of 'em down on us?! Huh?!”

“Dago, _where is he?_ ” She repeated slowly, each word more precise, “Where are you guys camped?”

The old biker's lips pursed and drew to a thin line as he gestured for her to move with his gun.

“You'll see soon enough, keep walkin',”

“No,” She said firmly, her face growing dark, “You're going to give me that gun, and you're going to tell me where he is.”

The biker let out a hearty scoff,

“So you can shoot me?”

“I don't give a fuck about you, right now,” She replied bitterly, “Plan's changed. He's the one I want.”

Dago furrowed at her in slight confusion. The look on her face. She was hell bent on finding out where there camp was, and getting revenge for whatever reason. He could see it plain as day in her coal black eyes. She wanted blood, and flesh, and the one-eyed man's life. More than she wanted Dago's life. His was worthless compared to Phillip's apparently. She wanted him dead, more than anything in the world.

“What he do to get _you_ all riled up?” The biker asked, keeping his gun on her as she shifted in place. Her lips curled in and her face grew bitter, her eyes falling to the floor for a second.

“Just tell me where he is,” She uttered.

“No...”

“Dago,” She warned, her eyes flicking back up to him. He saw it. The flash of anger. The bitter hatred and fire growing in her. The look on her face caused his emotions to betray him, his whole body betray him. His muscles shook while his stomach twisted into sickly knots. He felt like vomiting as her nose crinkled into a vicious snarl. His whole body felt sick and numb as the same time as he shook his head rapidly.

“No!” He let out, the words like a lead weight on his tongue, “You'll see soon enough, alright?! Now keep walkin'!”

“Tell me where he is!!”

“NO!”

Kei shot forward at him like a streak of lightning, the old biker stumbling back and firing a shot out of panic. Before he knew it he was on the forest floor, wrestling for control over the gun in his hands. Arms and hands flailed everywhere, bodies knocked and clashed into each other, it was all becoming a blur. Dago fought blindly through the upturning of leaves and the pain on various parts of his body. He fought blindly for control, gripping onto the gun tight as Kei kept hitting and scratching him with all her might. She managed to get a firm hold on the gun, even as they rolled around on the forest floor, Dago attempting to twist her wrists and fingers. It was all becoming a blur. One minute Dago was fighting for the gun, the next he was looking up at the barrel, Kei straddling his stomach firmly with blood dribbling down her lower lip. She wiped her mouth with her free arm and pressed the gun down to his nose, the cold metal pressing down hard on it.

“You fucking asshole,” She growled furiously, “I gave you a fucking chance...stay down!”

She pressed her freehand down on his neck, pinning him to the forest floor.

“Now, _where is he?_ ” She seethed, “Tell me where he is!!”

Dago's hands latched onto her bony wrist, his eyes widening at how firm her iron grip was.

“I...can't...” He choked out, staring up at her cold eyes, “You can't...show up without me...”

“Why?!” She bit, jerking down and pressing him harder into the floor. The act made him gag and sputter a little.

“He'll...kill them...my boys...” He struggled to say, “S'why I...came for ya...”

He watched with fearful eyes as Kei's lips twitched and her nose crinkled once more. God, she really was an animal. He watched as she dipped her head and let out a firm sigh, her grip around his neck loosening a little.

“Dago, if you tell me where he is...” She muttered slowly, lifting her head a little to make eye contact with him, “I'll...save your friends...and I'll let you live.”

The biker stared up at her, taking in short breaths and little gasps. Her grip on his neck was still a bit tight, but her face was soft-looking, almost innocent and sincere. The animal that had him pinned to the floor seemed to disappear, receding back into it's cage. In it's place a 25-year-old girl, fearful, seemingly harmless, just trying to survive at the end of the world.

But this was no ordinary girl. He knew that first-hand.

She was nothing but a wolf. A wolf who liked to dress in sheep's clothing, and fuck up everything that anyone ever did.

“...Liar,” He ground out bitterly. He let out a pained gasp as the muscles in her palm suddenly pressed down harder, crushing down on his wind pipe and causing him to choke. He latched onto her wrist harder, but let go as cold metal suddenly touched the skin on his mangled forehead.

“I'm not fucking around anymore!” She yelled out, her face smacking down into his, “You tell me where he is, or I'll shoot you right fucking here! One!”

Dago didn't say a word. He struggled to shift his head to the side a little, staring to his left as Kei pressed the barrel down to his temple.

“Two!”

She stared down at the biker, her eyes wide and manic as her index finger started to press the trigger. She could feel it coming. The bullet would fly out and his skull would shatter. His life would end. He had to say something. He just had to.

“Two-and-a-half!” She let out, gracing the biker with one more chance—one final chance to give her what she wanted, and a chance to make peace with her.

He didn't say a word. He just smiled.

Her eyebrows knitted as a faint smirk stretched across his bearded mouth.

“I'll tell you where he is...” He uttered, his eyes flicking to the side so he could look up at her. Kei stared down at him, her heart racing a mile a minute as he opened his mouth. This was it. She was going to find him and end it. She was going to save everyone from this man—no, this _demon_ , a monster that dressed in human skin. She was going to get her pound of flesh and avenge them all: Merle, Andrea, Milton, everyone else at Woodbury who were slaughtered by his hand.

This was it.

She was going to find him and end it.

Dago opened his mouth, the smirk on his lips growing as his eyes flicked forward.

“ _Look to your left.”_

Kei whipped her head to the left, looking straight ahead at a tall figure clad in a dirty leather trench coat. She had only gotten a glimpse of the black object over his right eye before something hard smacked her across the back of her head, her world flashing white before collapsing into darkness.

 

"This isn't how I wanted us to meet again,"

Her eyes snapped open, looking up at the dark shadow that hovered over her limp body. She tried moving, but her muscles wouldn't budge. Nothing was holding her down, she wasn't bound up with anything, but yet she couldn't move. It was like gravity had pressed it's mighty hand down on her, crushing her, pinning her entire body firmly in the dirt and leaves. She could feel something warm washing over her, a foul stench filling her nose over the tang of rotted fruit and dry leaves.

She looked up at the demon as he leaned his evil face forward, staring down at her, tilting his head. Her lips pursed into a thin line, hatred bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm going to kill you," She promised, the demon merely smirking and scoffing. He leaned further down, burying his evil head against her neck, whispering in her ear,

_"You'd better wake up before they're finished."_

She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at a ring of trees that hovered over her. She could see the leaves rustling, the sounds of hushed whispers on the breeze. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light and her muscles slowly moving as she attempted to move. Her arms and legs felt like lead weights, the back of her skull aching and throbbing. There was definitely going to be a bump there, if not a concussion. She slowly lifted her head, wincing at the pain before letting her head fall back into the leaves on the forest floor. She stared up at the sky, sighing in frustration as she tried to contemplate what could have happened. Dago was obviously gone, but the person she saw in the woods...

Her thoughts stopped when she heard the sound of crunching. Crunching and gnawing and ripping and squishing. She could hear hisses and growls and gutteral gasps as the source continued to fill it's mouth with large amounts of it's feast. She slowly turned her head, staring over at the scene that occurred only several feet away. The first thing she saw were his dull, horrified eyes and his sweaty, scarred forehead now covered in blood. A small group of walkers wre huddled around him on the forest floor, gnawing on his intestines and chewing on the fat from his stomach. She blinked few times, her mind slowly registering what in fact was happening. Walkers were way too close to her, and they were feasting on the limbs and innards of her previous captor. She had to get out of there. They were distracted. She had to move now while they were distracted.

She slowly started to move an arm out, her fingers slowly grazing over the leaves and dirt on the forest floor. She could move. Good. She moved her arm out further and stopped when her fingertips brushed against something hard and cool. She winced as she slowly turned her head over, looking down at Carl's handgun beside her, still loaded with the safety off.

Her eyes quickly fell to her outstretched arm. The skin was slathered in blood, the foul stench and ghastly color showing it was indeed walker blood. She furrowed quickly and turned her head, looking down at her body and and noticing that she was practically drenched in it. Her clothes were stained reddish black in walker chunks, the sight making her let out a throaty “what the fuck?!” under her breath. She turned her head again, staring wide-eyed at the small pack of walkers. None of them turned around. Hell, none of them bothered to even look at her. They were ignoring her, a living, breathing sack of flesh and organs, fresh and vulnerable. They were occupied with the biker, mindlessly snapping the bones and ripping open his organs one by one.

The girl struggled to sit up straight, wincing and holding her stomach. Once she did so, she turned to watch the group of walkers a little better. They really were oblivious to her prescence. That, or they just...didn't care for some reason.

She looked down at her clothes, her nose wrinkling in disgust as the foul smell of old dead insides filled her nostrils. Her eyes went from her blood-covered clothing over to the small group of the undead. The scent of walker guts, it was masking her from the others that surrounded Dago's body. Even as a few of them turned around to look at her, they didn't bother to attack as she struggled to her feet. As far as they knew, she was just another walker.

Kei took a few careful steps forward, her knees wobbling and the muscles in her legs shaking. She staggered her way through the woods and made a bee-line for the prison, Carl's gun in one hand, and the image of the demon on her mind. It was him she saw in the woods. It was him he heard whispering in her ear. It was him who doused her in blood and left her laying there in the woods. She could only imagine why he did it. That was probably his way of showing affection for her, protecting her. The thought made her shiver and wince in disgust. She didn't want anything from him. No sympathy, no protection, nothing. All she wanted was his throat so she could cut it. All she wanted was for him to die. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s: Final Exams go down next week for me.  
> kill me lol.  
> but after that, FREEDOM TO WRITE MORE. yaaaayy!


	42. 30 Days Without an Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don't want ya runnin' off to be a hero,” He spoke admittedly, “I want ya to depend on us sometimes. We're a group, ya know? Ya can't do things without people.”

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=107931885) followed closely behind Daryl, staring down at the dirtied wings on his vest. They had been travelling through the woods for hours each day, following faded footprints and turned leaves and snapped twigs.

It wasn't until after an hour or so that she noticed Daryl changing directions constantly. She could tell they were just walking at this point. And though Daryl hated to admit it, they both knew the trail had gone cold on their end. Wherever he was, he was long gone from the woods.

Perhaps Michonne would have better luck on horseback out on the road.

“Anything?” Kei asked anyway, staring at the back of Daryl's head as he kept walking. He didn't answer her right away, just let out a small “hmm.” in his throat.

“Maybe Michonne will have better better luck,” She spoke in a hopeful tone. Nothing in response. Daryl just kept walking, holding his crossbow in front of him, looking every which way. Kei let out a huff through her nose. He wasn't speaking to her again. He had been like this since she got back from her encounter with Dago in the woods, and that was weeks ago. His behavior worried her at first, and she attempted every day to get him to talk to her, but being Daryl, sometimes he just bottled it in and kept it shut. She thought she could try waiting it out, but now it was starting to pick at her patience.

“Daryl,” She called, stopping in her tracks as Daryl refused to turn around. He just kept walking, and something in her just snapped.

“I'm sorry, did I _miss_ something here?” She called out, trailing after him as he kept moving, “Did I do something wrong?”

She gently bumped into Daryl's back as he stopped. He turned around sharply and stared at her,

“Why didn't ya yell?”

Kei's eyebrows furrowed together as she shook her head in confusion,

“What?!”

“Why didn't ya yell for help back when Dago took ya?” He specified, staring at her intently as her lips pursed.

“I thought I could handle it,” She answered, “I _did_ handle it.”

She watched as Daryl's eyes looked her over once before let out small 'pfft.'

“Yeah...” He muttered, turning away and continuing on through the forest. Kei's mouth dropped slight disbelief, and her anger immediately spiked in her stomach.

“Excuse me?” She let out, stomping after him, “What the hell is that attitude for?!”

“Ya think yer some damn superhero,” Daryl remarked, whipping around sharply to face her as she approached him, “Ya always run off to do shit, to try and save everyone, and it always screws you over! You ran off back at the farm 'cause ya 'thought you could handle it.' Ya ran off with Merle too 'cause 'you thought you could handle it.' Look where it got ya! ”

“I did it to save you!” She snapped, staring up at him bitterly. Daryl gave her that look again, scoffing through his nose.

“And guess who ended up savin' who,” He retorted lowly. Kei's face twisted into a bitter snarl as Daryl turned back around and walked away from her. Her feet trailed after him, anger burning her insides and tightening up her muscles.

“Well, next time I'll be _sure_ to scream and cry and wail at the top of my _fucking_ lungs!” She let out sarcastically, “For Daryl Dixon to come swooping in like a knight in shining fucking armor to save m―”

She knocked into him again as he stopped and turned around to face her. She took a few steps back and stared up at him in anger, her lips pursed and her nose scrunched.

“That's not what I'm sayin' Kei, and you know it,” He growled at her, dipping his head as he let out a frustrated sigh, “Just forget it...”

Kei stared at him bitterly as he turned away and continued walking forward, shaking his head at the same time. Her eyes flicked over to an on-coming walker several feet away, the creature slowly staggering towards her with it's arms stretched out. Her breathing grew harsh in her nose as she stayed put, eyeing the approaching walker before looking over to the back of Daryl's head. He wasn't turning around. He was waiting for her to do it, to hear the familiar sound of metal slashing across flesh and bone.

Kei's eyes flicked over to the walker. He was only 3 feet away. Close enough.

“DARYL!” She cried suddenly, staring at the oncoming walker that lunged for her. She didn't move an inch as the creature's head suddenly jerked to the side, an arrow flying right into it's skull. Her eyes fell with the creature as it landed on the forest floor with a thud, the sound of angry footsteps rushing in on her right. She felt a strong hand suddenly grip on her bony arm and yank her away, twirling her around to face her livid hunter.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” Daryl spat, shaking her a little, “Huh?! What the fuck was that?!”

The girl seemed unphased by it, her cold eyes staring up at him. “I asked you for help,” she said plainly.

“No, ya asked to get your ass killed!” He bit.

“You wanted me to ask for help, right?!” She questioned, her ice and bitterness clear in her voice, “I asked for help!”

She could tell he wanted to slap her. The very deepest, darkest, part of him that was unafraid and unaffected by the years of abuse he faced just wanted to raise his hand and smack her. She could hear his breathing, harsh and heavy through his nose. His face seemed to grow darker as he leaned in, his forehead pressing hard into Kei's as he stared at her,

“ _Don't do that again_ ,” He warned in a low growl. She didn't seem phased by it. She merely stared at him, her smile gone, her eyes dull and cold as she stood there. She wasn't afraid of him.

“Fine,” She spoke, her voice just barely above a whisper. She pressed her forehead against his once before slipping away to walk past him, leaving Daryl standing there to look down at the corpse that nearly took his girl away from him.

“Told ya she'd turn on ya, baby brother,” A familiar voice chimed out. Daryl turned his head to his brother leaning carelessly against a tree, a bright green apple in his hand. He stared over at him with a smug smile on his face as he bit into the apple.

“Didn't I say it? She belongs to no one,” He remarked, apple juice dribbling down his chin, “She don't listen. She's as wild as those wolves of hers...”

Merle wiped his mouth on his sleeve and let out a hearty laugh, his little brother chewing on his thumbnail anxiously.

“...Fuck off,” Daryl muttered, turning away to follow Kei.

 

“ _Asshole_ ,” Kei muttered to herself, stomping through the woods with anger still roiling in her stomach. How could he say that after all that she did. She wasn't doing it to be a hero, to get some kind of glory or gratitude or a rush. She was doing it to protect them, to protect _him_. Everything she did, she did it with her group in mind. They were her family, and she couldn't bare to lose any of them.

“Kei, hold up,” Daryl called. She didn't respond. She just kept stomping forward, picking up her pace a little more as Daryl tried to catch up to her.

“Kei!”

“Fuck off,” She bit.

“Can ya hold up a minute?!” Daryl called, reaching out and taking her wrist, “I wanna talk to y―”

He stopped and flinched as Kei tore her wrist away from his grasp, whipping around sharply to face him.

“The last time I just stood on the fucking side-lines, my family all got bit!” She yelled out suddenly, the words escaping her mouth like birds in a cage, “I just fucking stood there and I let it happen! And I ended up having to chop their fucking heads off one by one! So excuse me Daryl IF GO OUT AND TRY TO FUCKING PROTECT WHAT I CARE ABO―”

She paused momentarily and shut her eyes, putting her hand to her mouth as she struggled to keep in the tears that were stinging her eyes.

“Shit,” She let out bitterly, gasping and breathing in sharply as the tears started to spill. She tried wiping them away as quickly as they came, but it was no use. They just kept spilling out, and all she could do was let it happen. She put her hands to her face and choked into a sob, the tears and the whimpers just spilling out of her with no hope of stopping. Daryl took a few careful steps towards her, slowly holding his arms out as she leaned into his thick chest and sobbed into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, listening to her muffled, frantic apologies.

“I'm sorry,” She mumbled, “I'm sorry for running off and worrying you...I'm sorry. I just don't want anyone to die.”

Daryl's eyes fluttered shut as he nuzzled into her hair, gently kissing the side of her head before leaning down and kissing her shoulder. He listened to Kei sniffle sharply and he stepped back a little, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his red rag. She reached out to take it, but instead Daryl held her head and gently tilted it back, wiping her eyes and cheeks. The gesture threw her off for a moment before it caused her eyes to sting, more tears spilling out at the sudden thought of him still caring about her throughout all this. Her bottom lip curled between her teeth as she shut her teary eyes, relishing in the feel of cloth gently brushing aganinst her skin.

“I don't know what I'd do if I lost you,” She said suddenly, more words falling out of her without control. She snapped open her eyes and saw Daryl's lips twist to the side a little, continuing to wipe the spare tears on her cheeks.

“Same for me,” He muttered honestly, “Think I like it when yer out there like that? Not knowin' where ya are?”

He stopped and handed her the rag, Kei taking it and wiping her runny nose. She shook her head no, sniffling lightly.

“Don't want ya runnin' off to be a hero,” He spoke admittedly, “I want ya to depend on us sometimes. We're a group, ya know? Ya can't do things without people.”

Her eyes pointed down at her feet as she gave him a small nod, sniffling a few times before she placed Daryl's rag in her back pocket.

“Let's get going,” She muttered, her lips pursing and her eyes avoiding his as she started walking forward again.

 

 

They finally reached the edge of the forest. They stepped out of the woods and managed to reach an empty stretch of road, the afternoon sun casting down on them from the cloudless sky above. Kei stepped out onto the street and started walking along, thinking about Daryl and what he had just said to her.

She had only made it a couple feet when she was suddenly stopped by a hand on her arm. Daryl gently gripped it and pulled her back towards him, staring her in the eyes intently.

“Ya ain't alone in the woods anymore,” He stressed to her, letting go of her arm and looking down, “Ya have us...and...”

The girl watched as his jaw bobbed and his thumb impusively went ot his lips, chewing on his nail nervously. The act made her face and heart soften, all his little tics and habits did.

“You?” She finished, scoffing lightly as Daryl nodded, “That sounds ridiculously cheesy.”

He snickered lightly, a faint smile on his face as he let out a small, “I know.”

Kei's lip curled between her teeth as she struggled to keep back a small smile. He was terribly cute when he was awkward and cheesy. When he got like that, she couldn't stay mad at him for long. She gestured her head in the prison's direction and the two of them started walking down the road, talking some more along the way. They didn't bring up the fight. Kei accepted that she needed to work more with her group, and Daryl accepted that Kei had would need some help doing so.

At one point in the conversation, Kei apologized for her behavior once more and Daryl suddenly stopped in his tracks. Kei stopped as well and looked up at him, tilting her head in slight confusion as he paused and hesitated for a couple seconds. Soon she found herself closing her eyes, instantly welcoming him as he leaned in and kissed her. It was a small kiss, and surprisingly timid seeing as they were the only ones out on the road right now. The timid kiss quickly melded into something more heated, the longer his lips stayed on hers. She started tilting her had back to break away, but the minute she parted her lips from his, his hands gently grasped her head and pulled her back in. He placed several little licks and kisses on her lips, the sensation causing her to giggle and smile. Her giggle quickly turned into a moan as he dipped his tongue between her lips, relishing in the taste of him that she had long missed. It had been weeks since they had done anything even  _remotely_ intimate like this, but it just made his taste that much sweeter, and her body heat up that much faster.

“I missed ya,” He whispered against her lips, his breath hot and damp. She moaned in response and licked her lips before his lips met hers once again in a sweet, passionate kiss that got rougher by the second, his hands pressing harder into her cheeks. He broke away from the kiss abruptly, moving his mouth down to her neck, licking and sucking at it. His tongue found her pulse and his teeth locked on it, causing a yelp to escape her mouth as she leaned away from him.

“Jesus!” She laughed, pressing her lips back to his as he pulled her back in. She felt his thick arms wrap around her waist and pull her in close, pressing her body firmly against his.

“I missed ya,” He muttered.

“Yeah I can see that,” She giggled with raised brows, smiling as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She planted another firm kiss on his lips for breaking away, looking up at him with a faint smile. She rubbed his arms lovingly and signaled for them to keep going, tilting her head in the prison's direction. Daryl gave her a crooked smile and nodded, taking a few steps forward before stopping suddenly. His head darted over to the forested area across the street like a wild deer, watching it intensly. Kei furrowed and turned towards it as well, her eyes widening the minute she heard rustling footsteps. Daryl tensed up and quickly slid his crossbow off his shoulder, holding it forward as Kei held up her gun and pointed it towards the woods.

The couple watched intensley as a single man exited the woods from across the street, an old rucksack on his back and a canteen in his hand. The man was relatively short and lanky with brown skin and a shaved head. He looked exceedingly dirty, and a patch of blood was spread across the front of his shirt. Daryl held up his crossbow and looked him over.

“Hey!” He called out, watching as the man stopped on the road, “Hands up, man!”

The stranger obliged without a word, slowly raising his bony arms just above his head. Kei quickly scanned him up and down for a weapon as Daryl continued to speak,

“You bit?!” The hunter asked out, watching as the lanky man shook his head.

“N-No!” He called out shakily, looking down at his shirt before he looked back at the couple, “Squirrel blood! Not really the cleanest kind of lunch.”

Kei kept her gun pointed at the man, looking him over from his distressed shirt and vest down to his khakis and dirt-caked military boots.

“You military?!” She called out.

“Army Medic!” He answered, his tone surprisingly neutral, “Yourselves?”

They didn't answer, and the stranger nodded. Understandable.

“Pretty crazy out here!” He called from afar, turning his head back towards the forest before looking back at them, “You guys, uh...You guys have a camp anywhere?!”

Kei and Daryl exchanged brief glances before looking back at the stranger,

"Prison, actually!” Kei called back, "What's your name?!"

"B-Bob, Bob Stookey!" The man spoke out, "You uh...You think there's any room for one more?"

 

[Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=106281424&lid=3151632) stretched his arms with a sigh and welcomed in the morning air as he walked outside. Early mornings were the best. He liked it when the sun was just barely up, everyone and everything still asleep. He walked out into the courtyard, past the outdoor living area, and over to the fence. He looked down at the courtyard below. Actual fields with vegetables, and a home made stable for their only horse. Next to that was a pigpen, five piglets and a sow happily occupying the space. The wolf pups were already out and staring at the piglets, attempting to taunt them by barking and huffing at them playfully. They had already grown (and freakishly so) to a significant size in these past months, almost to the size of their parents. They were already going out hunting with Ren and Ame, and pretty soon they'd be able to go out on their own.

“God, they grow fast,” He sighed, shaking his head and scoffing as he got out his lighter and a box of Marlboro reds. He put a cigarette to his lips and flicked on his lighter, pressing the flame to the unlit end as he took a hearty drag. He then flicked it shut and tilted his head up, exhaling with a smoke-filled sigh. He closed his eyes for a minute and listened. He listened past all the barking of wolves, the hissing of walkers, and the sound of the cell block door squealing open, to the sound of birds and cicadas. He listened to the wind, and the gentle rustle of leaves that rattled and shook against the breeze. He listened to that peaceful sound, and a smile couldn't help but form on his face. Early mornings were the best.

“Come out to help?” A familiar voice asked out.

The smile on the 25 year old's face grew. He turned around, facing Rick as he walked up with work gloves and an iPod in his hand.

“Morning, officer,” He said, tilting his head over towards the generator area, “Came out to check on the Power Plant. Make sure all the generators are running smoothly, recording numbers, yadda yadda.”

“Borin' engineer stuff?” Rick asked.

“Boring engineer stuff,” Sen scoffed. He looked behind the leader and furrowed, “Where's Carl?”

“In bed, I let him sleep in,” The Sheriff sighed, looking down before looking back over at Sen, “Apparently someone gave him a new stack of comics last night. He couldn't put 'em down.”

The leader quirked his eyebrows up knowingly at Sen, and the 25 year old merely gasped lightly.

“Who on earth would _do_ such a thing?” He asked innocently, “They should probably be punished... Grounded for two weeks. Bed without supper.”

Rick let out a scoff and shook his head, nudging the lanky guy in the shoulder as he walked past.

“Next time, just give him one before bed time,” He instructed.

“I will,” Sen promised, jutting his bottom lip out innocently, “Sorry, Dad.”

Rick scoffed and gave him another light shove before he headed down towards the fields. Sen chuckled and rubbed his shoulder lightly, his eyes falling to the leader's backside as he casually walked down the gravel path.

 

Everything seemed to feel better when she was half asleep. The way the brain only partially worked, just barely at the blissful edge of consciousness. She felt comfortable and warm on her new mattress, happy in the back of her mind that Daryl agreed on getting rid of the prison bunk bed. The pillows felt softer, and the fabric from the sheets felt good against her skin. There was just something about this morning that felt so good.

A tingling sensation suddenly ran through her, a shuddering moan escaping her lips. She didn't think anything of it for a split second, until another coursed through her, body causing her muscles to tense and another moan to come out. Even with eyes closed, she could feel her breathing coming out in light pants, her lips parting into a smile when she felt two rough, thick fingers inside her, something warm and equally wet gently circling her clit.

She had her fair share of good dirty dreams in the past, but the others didn't even come close to how good this one was.

“Ugnh,” She let out, her legs instantly clenching at the feel of a finger curling inside her. She felt a rough hand gently press against her right thigh, lifting her leg up and draping it over one thick shoulder. She could feel light ridges in the skin as her leg gently slid along his back. Scars. Her lips formed a smile as she ran her hand down to help her little dream along, her fingers entangling themselves in long greasy hair. Her fingertips gently rubbed and ran along his scalp, shivering at the feel of his stubble scratching the inside of her thigh as he indulged himself, kissing and licking her sex.

His lips traveled to the skin on her inner thigh, latching on and sucking nibbling hard. Her eyes snapped open and she let out a tiny surprised yelp at the small, sharp pain. She heard a breathy laugh and looked down, seeing Daryl's stormy blues staring up at her. He had a crooked smile on his face, his rough hands gripping firmly on her bony hips. He turned his head and kissed the inside of her thigh, the girl's head falling back into the pillows as she let out a playful laugh.

“Mornin',” She heard Daryl mumble.

“Good morning to you too,” She sighed, lifting her head up to look back down at him, “Mind telling me what you're doing?”

“Stuff,” He answered, chucking softly as she chuckled. He planted a kiss on her other thigh, “Just pleasin' my girl...Repayin' her for yesterday morning.”

He gave her sex a single lick and her whole body flinched, her hand instantly going to her mouth. She let out a groan and fell back into the pillows, her other hand instantly latching onto his hair as he licked her wetness again. He held her hips down as her upper body squirmed and wriggled against the mattress, his tongue lapping and pressing up against her swollen clit, causing her muscles to tense and her back to arch. He listened as her breathing went from soft sighs to breathy moans and pants. His eyes flicked up to her, watching as her head turned away to the side of her pillow, her eyes fluttering shut as her tiny chest rose and fell. Her index finger curled between her teeth, the very sight made him moan against her, letting out a breathy sigh against her wet folds.

“Love how sensitive ya are,” He admitted, “Love the way ya sound...the way ya taste...”

His lips slowly brushed up against her warmth and wetness. The tip of his tongue gently poked out along the way before stopping, gently pressing up against her little bundle of nerves. His hands latched onto her bony hips, holding them down harder as she bucked a little against his mouth. He gave her another series of soft licks and she whimpered, the air rushing in and out of her lungs at an increasing pace. Pleasure seemed to build up within her, more and more her until her hands finally caught on his shoulders and her body stiffened. Her mouth dropped and her eyes screwed shut, her back arching and her muscles tensing as she fell apart,

“Oh my go—!” She brought one shaking hand up to cover her mouth, her body jerking as a tidal wave of pleasure washed over her. She felt Daryl's head shift from her tense thighs and felt his body move upwards. She opened her legs a little so he could nestle between them, resting on top of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, feeling the skin of his chest pressing down against her own. She let out another sated moan as Daryl wrapped his arms around her protectively, entangling his fingers in her hair.

“Shhhh,” He whispered, an airy chuckle in his voice as he leaned down and kissed her.

She nipped at his lips before kissing him firmly on the mouth, licking at his tongue and earning a throaty moan of approval from her hunter. They kissed for a good while before breaking apart, both taking a much needed breath. Daryl rested his forehead against hers, rubbing his nose against hers with a faint smile on his face,

"You liked that?" 

She rubbed his nose back and nodded, smiling and sighing as Daryl's lips peppered her cheeks and neck and shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his moist hair, closing her eyes with a sated smile on her face. The feel of his pattering heart against hers, the way his skin felt against her own, it was all just...right. Things just felt right, okay even.

“I'm goin' on a run today,” He breathed against her skin, “That Big Spot I was talkin' about?”

Kei's eyes gently flicked down to his back, watching as her fingertips gently ran up and down his tattoo.

“Want me to come with?” She asked quietly, turning and pecking his cheek,“I could switch with Dave. He could do fence cleaning.”

Daryl's eyes fluttered shut for a moment before turned his head, looking right at her and shaking it.

“If it's bad out there like last month, they might need ya here,”

He closed his eyes as Kei pecked his lips lightly, a hand gently running over the facial hair on his jaw.

“...Okay,” She muttered simply. She watched Daryl's eyebrows raise up,

“Okay?”

She let out a huff and playfully swatted him on the shoulder, Daryl flinching and chuckling as she attempted to briefly tickle his sides.

“Don't sound so surprised,” She giggled, bringing her hands up to his face. She gently cupped his cheeks and held him there as she gave him a kiss, smiling into his lips as he let out an airy laugh through is nose.

“Well, ya usually put up more of a fight,” He chuckled, pecking her on the nose, “Yer not gonna sneak off into the trunk again, are ya?”

He chuckled again at the “pretend offended” look on her face, her jaw dropping lightly as she let out a huff.

“If I wasn't there last week, you and Sen would be walker food right now,” She remarked. She watched as Daryl's lips twisted to the side. He shrugged his shoulders without a word, earning another playful nudge in the arm as Kei tried pushing him away. Daryl let out a drawn out “No” as he tried keeping himself on top of her. He leaned down and attempted kissing her lips, only managing to get her cheeks as she turned her head every which way. His lips traveled down to her neck and collar bone as she giggled and squirmed under him, barely trying to get away as he covered her skin in kisses and love bites.

“You should kiss me,” He mumbled into the skin of her shoulder. He turned his head and leaned over, attempting to touch her lips.

“No,” She asserted, turning her head as he tried to kiss her again. Daryl leaned over her and dipped down, attempting to kiss her on the other side.

“ _C'mon_ ,” He pressed, laughing lightly as she whipped her head in the other direction. He moved quickly and leaned down again, only missing by a hair as she turned her head away.

“No!” She laughed, squealing as his hand slid under her and gripped her bare ass. Her hips shot up and she playfully smacked his shoulder, shutting her eyes as he managed to kiss her square on the mouth. She cupped his whiskery cheeks again, lifting her hips and arching her back as she felt his arms slide under her. They wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her as he rolled them over. She laid flat on his chest and watched as his head hit the pillow, a crooked smile on his face as he looked up at her.

She gently ran the tip of her index finger down the bridge of his nose, his eyes fluttering shut before her fingers slid over and up into his hair. He opened his eyes again and stared up at her, his hands gliding up from her sides to her to her shoulders and up to her scalp. He gently ran his fingers through her own hair, toying with her roots as she smiled lovingly at him.

“I love you,” She muttered honestly, running her hands through his hair, “Be safe out there, okay?”

Daryl nodded his head and shut his eyes as Kei leaned in and gave him a firm kiss on the lips. She kissed his whiskery cheeks and jaw before breaking away and sitting up straight. As Kei went to take a shower and get dressed, the hunter laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling with a faint smile on his face.

 

[Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=103666720&lid=3151632) stepped out into the morning sun, looking out at the active courtyard. Everyone was already up and about. The kids were running around playing tag while their parents sat in the living area, chatting and eating their breakfast. Carol was working hard at the grill, Patrick and Summer loyally at her side. Dr. Caleb Subramanian was sitting at a table beside the grill, Dr. Stookey sitting across from him with a water canteen in his hand. They were talking passionately about something she couldn't hear from this distance, but it sounded like a joke judging by how hard the two of them laughed.

She was brought out of her thoughts when a body brushed past her and a hand briefly gripped her rear end. She perked up with a small noise and turned her head, watching as Daryl walked past. She struggled to keep back a smile as she brought her hand up and swatted him on the arm, the hunter laughing and curling in slightly.

“ _Stop_ grabbing my ass,” She laughed, swinging at his shoulder and missing as he leaned back.

“Make me,” He mumbled with a crooked smirk on his lips.

“Oh I'll make you,” She assured.

“Yeah?” He asked. She was just about to respond when Daryl suddenly moved. He took a large step forward and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up off the pavement.

“Daryl!” She squeaked, wriggling a little as he walked forward and held onto her tight. He brought her a couple feet forward before setting her down, earning another playful punch in the arm. The lanky girl quickly straightened out her clothes, smiling and closing her eyes as Daryl stepped forward and quickly pecked her on the forehead.

“Want breakfast?” He asked as he walked past her. She nodded lightly before letting out a “Yes please,” following him along as they headed over to the grill. Daryl stepped up inside the living area, taking in the scent of burning coal and cooked meat. All eyes in the living area seemed to look up at the hunter and his girl as they stepped up towards Carol at the barbecue grill.

“Morning Daryl,” Caleb greeted. Daryl turned his head briefly before looking forward again.

“'Sup Dr. S,” He spoke.

“Morning Daryl,” Another voice chirped out, Lizzie and Mika's father beaming over at the hunter.

“Hey Daryl!” Another survivor greeted. Two more bid him good morning and Daryl turned to face them all, hesitantly turning away. A smile couldn't help but form on Kei's face. She could have sworn she saw a little pink under his whiskery cheeks.

“Smells good,” He spoke out, grabbing himself a bowl while handing one over to Kei.

“Just so you know, I liked you first,” Carol chirped, smiling brightly as Daryl quickly began eating.

“Stop,” He mumbled.

“I liked you second,” Kei giggled, earning a soft nudge from Daryl's elbow. He popped some more meat in his mouth before speaking again,

“Ya know, Rick brought in alotta them too,” He remarked.

“Not recently,” Carol replied thoughtfully, “Give the stranger's sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're gonna have to learn to live with the love.”

“Right,” The hunter mumbled.

“I need you to see something,” She announced, turning towards the young boy currently reading a comic book, “Patrick, you wanna take over?”

Patrick's head perked up like a meerkat before he quickly set his book down.

“Yes ma'am!” The spectacled teen chirped out, rushing over and quickly taking the tongs from her hand. The three adults started walking away before Patrick spoke up,

“Uh, Mr. Dixon?”

Daryl stopped in his tracks, Carol and Kei stopping as well as Patrick stepped up to the hunter. Kei could see the stars practically shining behind his eyes as he looked up at him,

“I just wanted to thank you, for bringing that deer back yesterday,” He admitted, looking over to Kei and Carol briefly before looking back at Daryl, “I mean it was a real treat, sir, and I'd be honored to shake your hand.”

He held out his hand and Daryl stared at it for a solid minute. The gesture alone made Kei's heart swell, seeing someone actually stepping forward and expressing how much they admired the guy. She felt the same way, each and every day. He was a hero in her eyes, and he was in Patrick's as well. She could tell Daryl realized this, and looked somewhat thrown off by it. Still he stepped forward and brought out his hand, but not before putting it to his mouth. Kei furrowed and stifled a small laugh as he quickly licked his fingers, bringing his hand back down and putting it in Patrick's. He shook the boy's hand firmly and gave him a smile, one that made Kei want to go “Awww!” out loud and just scrunch up his face. She held back on it though, and giggled instead as she followed Carol and Daryl out of the living area. She walked up alongside her hunter and linked her arm with his, staring up at him with a cheeky grin.

“ _Daryl Dixon, you're my hero_ ,” She murmured in a nasally, monotone voice. The hunter scoffed and gently nudged her with his elbow, picking up some more meat from his bowl and dropping it into his mouth. She scooped up some of her own breakfast and dropped it in her mouth, the two of them walking and eating simultaneously as they headed over to the fence.

“About today,” Carol spoke out, leading the couple, “I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run.”

“Well that place is good to go, we're gonna move on it,” Daryl rasped through a full mouth.

“Yeah,” Carol recited slowly, stopping outside the gate to look out at the courtyard, “Thing is, we had a big buildup over night. Dozens more towards tower three.”

Kei walked up to the fence and gripped onto the chain-link with one hand, watching as a whole slew of walkers began piling up against the outer fence line next to the guard tower. More were seeping out of the woods like a herd of cattle, blindly drawn to the one area where all the fence cleaners were. She furrowed at the scene in confusion, watching as the cleaners stuck their melee weapons through the holes, picking off all the walkers pressed up to the fence one by one. It was so odd. She had never seen walkers behave like this. Sen had been trying to record their pattern for months, but he couldn't pinpoint what the problem was. It couldn't have been just the fence cleaners. Maggie and Carl lined up in the corridor like that for months, and not even this many walkers showed up. Now there were hundreds of them. What on earth was over there that was making them all pile up like this?

“It's getting as bad as last month,” She heard Carol sigh, “They don't spread out anymore.”

“More of us in there will draw more of 'em out,” Daryl remarked, pointing over to the line of survivors walking along in the corridor, “Get enough of those damn fence cleaners and they start to herd up.”

Kei's eyes flicked over to the fence cleaners. David, Karen, Omar, Alex, and Taylor. All of them were thrusting forward and shoving crowbars and led pipes and long knives through the chain-link, walkers dropping like flies, and more walkers piling up after them.

“They're pushing against the fences again,” Carol remarked, folding her arms as she watched the herd, “It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long.”

She turned her head and looked over at Daryl, watching as he nodded lightly. She jutted out her bottom lip and smiled lightly.

“Sorry, Pookie,” She cooed. Daryl let out a scoff through his nose and gently nudged her with his elbow before walking away, letting out a small whistle to grab Kei's attention. The girl turned around and quickly trailed after him, but not before giving Carol a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I'll stay behind and help out,” She offered, Carol giving her a light nod and a thankful smile.

 

After breakfast was done, Daryl went out to the courtyard to help pack up the cars and get everything ready for the run. Kei was still in her cell when she readied her bow and arrows. Ren was sitting restfully on the mattress beside her, watching as her master readied herself for the hunt.

“ _Koinu o shūshū shi, iku,_ ” She instructed, her head tilting towards her cell's exit. Ren obediently got up off the bed and left the cell to go gather the pups. Kei laced up her last boot and got up to stretch, raising her arms up high as she let out a grunt. She quickly left the cell and made her way out towards the courtyard, but not before greeting Maggie and Glenn along the way. She walked past their cell and let out a short wolf-whistle when she saw the couple putting on their t-shirts.

“Someone had fun last night,” She teased.

“Har har, very funny,” Maggie chirped, sticking her tongue out as Kei wrinkled her nose and did the same. The two of them laughed lightly while Glenn looked over at Kei quizzically.

“Going somewhere?”

“Hunting,” She answered, breifly looking at her bow before looking at them, “You two going on the run?”

She saw Maggie's smile falter for a moment before she shoved her hands in her pockets.

“I'm stayin' here,” She said simply. Kei's eyes flicked over to Glenn's, and she could tell he was troubled about something.

“Everything okay?”

Glenn looked up at her, nodding and struggling that small smile of his. Now she definitely knew something was bothering him.

“Fine,” He answered. Even though the girl was nowhere near convinced, Kei left it at Glenn's word and nodded lightly.

“Alright,” She chirped simply, stepping forward and continuing on towards the exit, “See you at the truck.”

 

When Kei entered the courtyard, she ended up having to dodge wild children and wolf pups. She tried to keep from knocking into them as they scurried around like rabbits on a sugar high, laughing and barking like mad men. Ren was running around attempting to herd her young cubs together while Sasha, Tyreese, Daryl, and Zach were prepping their vehicles. She walked over to the back of the silver pickup and saw Daryl shaking a can of gas, checking to make sure they had enough for the trip.

“You have enough?”

“Plenty,” He answered, looking at her up and down for a moment, “You workin' the fence?”

“Hunting,” She replied simply, re-shouldering her bow, “I thought I could try bringing back some rabbit.”

“We got snares set up for that,” He reminded as he carefully placed a couple boxes of ammo in the trunk bed.

“Yeah, but the kids need practice,” She retorted, smiling playfully as Daryl scoffed and shook his head. The hunter looked over at the pups by the gate--Shadow, Lor, Eli, and Haru all nipping and roughousing with each other.

“Good luck tryin'a teach _those_ little furballs anythin',” He said with a smirk, “Bring yer gun with ya, in case ya run into any trouble.”

“Yes dear,” She chirped, pecking his lips lightly. She felt Daryl gently grip her hand before walking away, heading over to the pile of crates that held supplies for their run. Just as he did so, Zach came up to the back of the truck with a rifle in his hand, carefully setting it in the bed before he turned around. He watched as Beth came walking up to him dressed in an apron and carrying a basket of vegetables. Chiyo trotted loyally by her side, her tail wagging as she occasionally sniffed the pavement along the way. The shaggy-haired teen watched the both of them with a smile, letting out a warm “Hey,” as Beth approached him.

“I was just gonna come find you,” He mentioned, shutting his eyes as the tiny blonde leaned in and kissed him. She gently broke away and gave him a bright smile,

“What's up?” She chirped.

“Well the council just pulled back everyone on the cold crew from going on the run,” “They're shorthanded right now. Figured I'd step up to help, go with them...You know, just wanted to make sure I saw you before...”

Beth's doll-like eyes fell to the pavement for a breif second. She quickly looked back at him and shook her head, shrugging lightly as she let out a simple “Kay,” with a smile.

“Yeah, I just—'cause you know, it's dangerous,” He pointed out, “Goin' out there.”

Beth let out a short airy laugh and assured him that she knew. She smiled brightly at him and leaned in, giving him a firm kiss on the cheek before breaking away. She let out a small whistle and Chiyo followed the blonde closely as she started walking back towards the cellblock.

“O...Okay, you gonna say goodbye?” He asked, the smile clear in his voice as he watched her walk away. He watched as her blonde ponytail swayed as she shook her head,

“Nope!” She let out.

Daryl walked past in her in that moment, carrying a milk crate full of supplies as he looked from Zach over to Beth.

“Damn romance novel,” He teased. Zach let out a scoff and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, his eyes never leaving the back of his girlfriend's head as she continued to walk away.

Kei stepped forward and gently nudged the lovestruck-teen in the shoulder as she walked past, teasingly winking at him before stepping up beside Daryl. Together they began stacking up the crates and organizing the weapons, stopping when they heard someone speak out,

“Hey,” A voice said suddenly, earning everyone's full attention. Kei stood up on the truck bed and looked over to see Bob Stookey standing at the end of the Hyundai. Sasha was standing right in front of him, leaning on the opened driver's seat door.

“Like to start pullin' my own weight around here,” He spoke simply, his tone friendly and welcoming as usual.

“Bob, it's only been a week,” Sasha mentioned.

“That's a week worth of meals,” The doctor remarked as he stepped forward, “A roof over my head...Let me earn my keep.”

Kei's eyes flicked over to Tyreese's sister as she dipped her head. Sasha let out a sigh as she stepped out from behind the door, not saying a word for a solid minute before looking back over at him.

“You were out on your own when Daryl and Kei found you,” She mentioned.

“That's right,” He replied with a nod.

“I just wanna make sure you know how to play on a _team_ ,” She remarked, her tone slightly wary, border-lining mistrust.

“We ain't gonna do it 'nless it's easy,” Daryl assured as he walked past her.

“You know he was a medic in the army,” Glenn pointed out.

Bob nodded at him before tuning and raising his brows over at Sasha, letting Daryl and Glenn's words say all they needed to about him. Still, Sasha looked wary, her big brown eyes staring at him firmly as she raised her brows right back.

“You a hell of a tough cell, you know that?” He said to her, his tone still friendly with a small laugh mixed in.

Her expression didn't falter. She gave him one more firm look before her eyes fell to the pavement.

“Okay,” She let out simply, turning around to face the others, “Let's head out.”

Kei turned and picked up the last crate of supplies from Zach's hands, placing it in the truck bed before patting on the roof to signal she was done. She hopped off the truck bed and gave Zach a firm pat on the shoulder as she walked past.

“Good luck,” She said to him, “Stay safe, okay?”

She watched as the teen gave her a firm nod, smiling lightly as he held out his fist.

“Will do,” He promised, briefly bumping his fist with hers before walking over to the truck's passenger seat, “I'll look after Daryl for ya.”

“Thanks!” She let out over the sound of a roaring motorcycle engine. She stepped back from the vehicles and watched as everyone loaded up and started their engines. Her eyes fell over to Daryl, watching as he revved his bike a couple times. She couldn't help but stare at the back of his seat, her stomach dropping slightly a the sight of it. Empty. Staring at it made the idea of her going with cross her mind, but it left as soon as it came when she saw Daryl pulling forward towards the gate. The silver pickup and the Hyundai followed closely behind him, all three vehicles carefully driving down the gravel path towards the lower courtyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww yiisss, winter break has STARTED for me, guys! I'm so pumped!  
> Now i can write, and eat, and write some more...and eat more! teehee.  
> I thought I'd update in time for Christmas lol. Oh, and I want to wish my fellow Whovians love and hugs for the 25th.  
> It's going to be both a good day and a sad day at the same time.  
> the eleventh doctor is regenerating in the Doctor Who Christmas special. ;~;  
> But regardless of that, Sherlock is returning on New Years Day! WOOT!  
> Happy Holidays, everyone! xx


	43. 30 Days Without An Accident pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No," He said firmly.
> 
> "Let me be with him," She repeated. Sen's eyes fell to her hands as she took out her knife. Instantly he dropped his gun and reached for her.
> 
> "Wait! No!"
> 
> "NO!" Rick cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, cuties! ^.^ here's another chapter for you all. Apologies for the delay. I've been enjoying my winter break, and fully taking advantage of the whole "sleeping in" thing.   
> but alas, I have Uni soon. boooo!!  
> P.S. - Walking Dead Season 4B returns in February! Who else is pumped!?!  
> Enjoy! xx

Kei carefully drew back the bowstring to her lips, listening to the wood of her bow creak over the sound of rustling leaves. Her eyes stared intently at it's skull—it's mutilated, bloody, partially exposed skull. Her dark eyes followed it as it stumbled along aimlessly, it's bony arms reaching out and flailing towards a small herd of wolves barking along. She watched as Shadow snapped at the Walker and her fingers instantly let go, the arrow flying forward and smacking into the Walker's head. The creature crumpled to the ground, the wolf pups suddenly herding around it to get accustomed to it's scent. The lanky girl casually walked past, picking up her arrow along the way as Ren and Ame herded their children and encouraged them to move forward. Kei watched as eight wolves darted past her and ran further into the woods, their footsteps heavy yet their movements swift. The sight couldn't help but put a smile on her face. Seeing Ame, the father and Alpha of the pack, lead his family on through the woods, wordlessly teaching them how to hunt and fight and defend. It was really an amazing thing to witness, anyone who had a chance to be this close and personal with wolves would agree. 

She let out a series of short whistles and watched as the pack shifted, the wolves making a sharp left and turning around fully. They made a beeline straight towards her and stopped at her feet, looking up at her expectantly with whipping tails and hanging tongues. Kei tilted her head to the left and started walking in that direction, reloading her bow with another arrow as she cautiously stepped forward towards the snares. The wolves darted right past her, their energy high and their excitement higher. The pups relished at the chance to run around in the open woods. So many new things to smell and fresh dirt dig and to roll around in. The woods was where their senses ran wild.

Kei watched Shadow and Chiyo rough-house momentarily before stopping in her tracks, tensing up slightly at an odd sound. The wolves all stopped and perked up as well. Ren took a few careful steps before stopping, tilting her head up to sniff the air. Ame and the wolf pups mimicked her actions. The two adults stayed put as their children suddenly darted forward, barking and whimpering in excitement as they rushed towards the source. Kei's eyes fell to the red wolf and watched as she let out a sharp huff, growling slightly and walking forward. Kei followed them to a relatively small clearing, her eyes falling over to the pups rough-housing again before falling over to the object currently laying at their feet. Something brownish grey, and relatively fat was laying dead on the forest floor, and the wolf pups were fighting over who got first bite. 

“What the hell?” She muttered to herself. She stared at the thing as she carefully stepped closer, looking around for a brief moment before looking down at the creature. It was a boar, a fat old boar that still managed to groan and gurgle in what could only be agony. Kei shouldered her weapon and knelt down, staring intently at the animal. No visible wounds. No bites. Not even so much as a scratch. 

Meanwhile, the pups continued to bite and nip and playfully harass each other. Ame attempted getting in between them, trying to get them to calm down. Ren carefully stepped up next to Kei and stared at the creature intently, her nose sticking out a little and sniffing the dying creature.

“Natural causes, huh?” Kei scoffed, her eyes flicking over to the pups now attempting to pile up on their dad. A smile flashed across her face before disappearing, the sound of growling making her head turn over towards Ren. The Red Wolf crouched slightly and growled at the boar, her face scrunching up and her teeth baring only slightly. Kei's eyes flicked over to the alpha female. She transformed before the girl's eyes, going from cautious and motherly to dangerous and threatening within seconds. 

“R...Ren?” She asked cautiously, furrowing at the wolf's behaviour. Suddenly a herd of wolf pups started coming her way. They made a beeline for the boar and Ren completely lost it. The Red wolf suddenly bolted forward, hovering over the boar's body, snapping her jaws at her children, barking and snarling bloody murder at them. The scene made Kei jump back with a loud swear, her eyes wide and her heart in her throat. The pups instantly bolted back towards their father, squealing and whimpering submissively as Ren suddenly guarded the corpse with her life. The Red wolf turned her head sharply towards Kei, growling and baring her teeth when she saw the girl move and sit back up on her knees.

“Ren,” She said slowly, holding a hand out, “Ren, calm down.” 

She carefully started crawling towards the wolf, stopping as Ren crouched down further and her ears shot forward. She watched as the animal bared her teeth, growling menacingly in her throat. The girl was at a complete loss, Ren was threatening her. She was actually threatening to hurt her if she stepped any closer. Kei immediately backed down, showing her submissiveness as she lowered her head and crawled back a few steps. As she did so, the questions kept pouring in. What was it with that boar that she was acting like this? Did she want it for herself?

Her eyes flicked over to Ame, watching as he sniffed and huffed and growled as well. His actions began mimicking Ren's, and he let out a couple of short barks and huffs. Kei furrowed as the animals around her grew more and more anxious. Ren huffed and barked at the rest of her pack, the wolves seeming to understand whatever it was she was trying to express. This frustrated the girl. If only she was animal. Whatever was happening in their unknown, wordless wolf language, everyone else but her understood. The wolf pups backed away from the carcass, as did Ame. Ren stepped off of the boar's body and darted over towards Kei, her speed making Kei flinch in fear that she was about to attack. Instead she was met with loud, high-pitched whimpers and a wet nose pressed up against her cheek. Kei turned her head away at Ren's aggressive and desperate attempts before the light bulb suddenly clicked in her head. 

Dying animal on the forest floor.

Predators refuse to eat it. 

And here Ren was, urging her to get away from it. 

The girl rolled her eyes and mentally swore at herself. Of course, it wasn't old age. The thing was sick. The boar was dying of disease. That's why Ren and Ame wouldn't let the pups eat it. 

“Jesus,” Kei sighed, running her hands through Ren's fur once before getting up to her feet, “That's why you were acting all crazy!”

Ren barked and quickly got behind Kei's legs, pushing her along and forcing her to walk away from the boar. The girl let out an assuring, “Alright! Alright!” before laughing lightly, walking away from the carcass for good. She got out her bow once more and followed the wolves further into the forest, heading out to find more healthier looking food for her group.

  
  


[Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=110481763) carefully ran up to the walker, his footing swift and unusually quiet. The creature barely had time to turn before the man swung his staff, swiftly bashing the metal pole against the walker's head. Rick watched as the walker's head flung to the side with an ungodly crack, it's neck snapping into a permanent angle. The creature stumbled a little before regaining it's footing and turning. The walking corpse faced Sen and snarled angrily at him, reaching it's bony arms out and staggering forward. It started to gurgle and hiss at the lanky man, but it's noises were cut short when a skinny pole pierced it's eye-socket and ran right through it's decaying skull. Sen yanked his weapon back out and whipped it to the side, flicking off the excess blood as the creature fell to the ground dead. 

The leader nodded in approval as he walked up to Sen, gently patting his shoulder as he brushed past.

“Not bad,” He said simply, tilting his head in a certain direction, “C'mon.” 

The two men walked alongside one another. At first it was quiet; the rustling leaves and creaking trees of the forest being the only thing breaking the silence. Rick would occasionally look over to Sen, and Sen would look away, something else in the woods always seeming to catch his eye in the last second. It wasn't until Rick asked about his family that he finally opened up. His mother was from Australia. She used to be an actress. She had met Sen's father, a translator for a Japanese business client, on set. She never did any big projects, nor did she make it to Hollywood like she dreamed--not after being pregnant with his older brother. But when Sen was five, the four of them moved to their father's home in Osaka. Ever since he was little, his parents said he was the Nurturer, and his older brother was the Warirror. Funnily enough, Sen got into medical care, and his older brother joined the military.

“He was stationed out in Okinawa before the world ended, helping keep the shores safe and whatnot,” He sighed, looking up at the sky thoughtfully, “I like to think he's still out there somewhere. You know, being out on a ship like that. Maybe he and his crew held out...” 

“...I thought about joining the Marines at one point when I was in high school,” Rick admitted, “Decided I could do more for others out here...became an officer instead.” 

“It was a girl, wasn't it?” Sen said with a cheeky grin, “It was a girl that kept you here.” 

Rick flashed him a small grin and shook his head, scoffing lightly before nodding a confession.

“My wife,” He admitted.

“Aw,” Sen cooed, chuckling as Rick nudged him in the shoulder, “Girls do tend to love a guy in uniform.”

The sheriff nodded lightly and wiped his mouth before his eyes fell to the forest floor. They fell silent again, casually combing along the path, picking up whatever dead animal got caught up in their snares. They had managed to catch two forest rabbits so far, both of them getting shoved into the burlap sack that Rick carried along with him. Sen carefully walked alongside him, his eyes following the line of wire that ran from one tree to the next. He gently plucked at it. It was tight. 

“We caught something big,” He mentioned quietly, “Way bigger than a rabbit. Possibly a deer.” 

Rick nodded and carefully stepped forward, following along the wire over to the trap. Sure enough, there was a deer carcass hanging by one of it's back legs. His eyes panned down from it's bloody hind leg to it's shredded torso, it's intestines hanging out in the open with flies getting caught on it. Sen stepped back a little and winced as he looked to the floor, the other half of the deer lying there with maggots crawling out of it's eyes and mouth. He gagged a little and put his hand to his nose. 

“Jesus,” He grunted.

“Walker got it,” Rick mentioned, letting out a sigh in frustration, “Dammit..”

Sen let out a disheartening sigh before shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, shit happens,” He said simply, giving Rick's shoulder a brief pat, “Let's check the others.”

The two men walked further into the woods, causally bringing up small conversation here and there as they checked the snares. So far it was nothing compared to the deer they could have scored, but squirrel and rabbit wasn't too bad. They went to check the last snare before Rick suddenly stopped in his tracks. He told Sen to shush mid-sentance, the lanky 25 year old shutting up immediately as he listened to the air. They heard a groan. It wasn't a walker's groan. It sounded like an animal. A wounded animal. Sen furrowed lightly and immediately looked to Rick as the leader cautiously stepped in the noise's direction. It wasn't long before they reached a relatively small clearing, and sure enough, a boar sprawled out on the forest floor. The thing moaning in pain, but not from any visible injury. It was sick. Rick stepped forward to take a closer look, but froze up instantly as something came stumbling in from the right of him. Sen's eyes widened and the alarms blared off in his head. He reached forward and grabbed onto Rick's arm, yanking him back and pushing him up against the tree. Rick's back hit the bark and Sen suddenly pressed up against him, pinning him there as he attempted to hide behind the same tree. The leader's eyes widened and Sen's cheeks suddenly flushed. A small sense of panic set in. He realized how this must have looked. He looked to the startled leader and mouthed a quiet "Sorry". Rick slowly shook his head, signaling that it was fine. 

The two of them carefully leaned over and poked their heads out, staring at a long haired figure walking up to the animal. The figure was dirty from head to toe, with wild hair and tattered clothing much too big on them. The two men watched as the figure fell to it's knees and leaned over, hovering over the boar that still groaned in agony. Sen let out a small huff in frustration. Walkers, they really were just a bunch of homewrecking vermin. That was probably the same Walker that ruined their deer, the greedy bastard. 

Sen turned his head and stared directly at Rick, tilting his head back towards the prison. The leader nodded lightly and the two of them stepped away in unison, creeping away to leave the Walker with it's feast. 

"Wait!"A small voice peeped out. Both men stopped in their tracks, surprise taking over as the voice of a woman called out once more, 

"Please!" 

The two of them turned and looked back to see the dirtied woman standing up. Her eyes were wide and desperate, her skin looked almost permanently stained with dirt and grime.

"Please! Please help me," Her voice was weak, but thick with an irish brogue. 

"I know you don't know me. Okay, I know that." She turned and pointed to the sick boar, "But can you please help me get this to my husband? We haven't eaten in days." 

Sen's dark eyes flicked over to Rick as he stepped forward, slightly cautious as he pulled his messenger bag forward and opened it up. He reached inside and pulled out their sandwhiches wrapped tinfoil.

"Here," He spoke simply, holding them out to her, "Go ahead." 

The two men watched as she reached her tiny, dirty hand out and took the leader's gift, nodding lightly and staring him in the eyes.

"Thank you," She spoke, her timid voice just barely above a whisper. Sen watched as her lips pursed and her eyes flitted away for a second. She looked on the verge of crying.

"Do you have a camp around here?" She asked.

The leader nodded lightly, "Yeah."

"Could we...Could we possibly come back with you?" She asked, her voice surprisingly sweet, "We've been doing... very _badly_ on our own."

Rick looked down at his boots for a moment. Thinking hard about it for only a couple minutes before looking at her, 

"I'd have to meet him," He said after some hesitation. "I need to ask him some questions, both of you."

"What questions?" She asked. 

"Just three," He assured, "When we get there." 

The woman nodded.

"You have a gun on you?" The leader asked. She shook her head. "Can I make sure?" 

She nodded reluctantly and stood firm as Rick stepped behind her. He patted her down and didn't find a gun, but he did find a small dagger strapped to her side. He slipped it out of the holster and continued to pat her down the rest of the way. Once he got back up, he looked her dead in the eyes.

"Look, I don't know you, so I'm just gonna tell you this," He warned, leaning into her dirtied face, "You try anything- _anything_ \- you're gonna be the one who loses."

She looked him dead in the eyes, unafraid and almost numb to the leader's threat. 

"I don't have anything else to lose," She whispered honestly.

"No,” He asserted with a nod, “You do.” He handed the knife back to her and gestured for her to lead the way, "Go ahead."

Her name was Clara. She was 35, Irish, and was just married to her English husband, Edward, before the world ended. 

"We were going to Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon," She mentioned as they continued along through the woods, "When they shut down the airports, our connecting flight never connected. They wouldn't let us leave the terminal, so... we slept next to these _huge_ marble sculptures from Zimbabwe. Then, on the fourth night, the... _things_ just came through. There were a lot of us and... now it's just Eddie and me." 

She stopped in her tracks for a moment and looked to the both of them. "And I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for him. And it isn't that...he _saved me,_ over and over again, or that he showed me the things that I had to do or... _to be willing to do_..."

Her eyes flitted away. She looked about ready to cry again.

"If he wasn't still here... I- I couldn't be," She asserted, "I just...I couldn't." 

She started walking again, Rick and Sen casually following her lead, watching as she carried on. Sen tilted his head to the side, observing her in thought. Now that that he got a good look at her, he noticed that she was wearing a men's suit jacket. A large men's suit jacket. What on earth was she doing out here by herself, looking to hunt and avoid walkers with onl a small dagger? Why wasn't her husband with her?

"What were they?" Rick asked suddenly, snapping the young Asian man from his thoughts.

Clara stopped and looked at him quizzically, "What?

"The things you had to be willing to do?" Rick specified. Clara looked away in thought.

"Um... eating whatever we could find," She answered, "Animal carcasses and rotten fruit- and... leaving people behind...Hiding from people who needed my help. Unlike you." 

She gave him another weak, thankful smile before continuing on again. Rick followed closely behind her, his hand on the holster of his gun.

"This is not charity," He assured, "You have to have numbers. People are the best defense against walkers _or people._ We help each other."

Clara continued onward without looking at either of them.

"You call them 'walkers'..." She remarked.

They had been walking through the woods for what seemed like ages. Sen was on the verge of dragging his feet. Normally he wouldn't mind, but carrying on and on, listening to nothing but boring small talk was nowhere _near_ stimulating for his brain. He was at the point of wishing there was a walker nearby so he had _something_ to do other than listen to the two of them.

"I saw those sculptures at the airport once." Rick remarked, stepping up next to Clara as they walked on, "My favorite was the kids playing leapfrog."

"Mine too," The woman chirped, turning her head to look at him, "What Eddie and I had to do, did you do things like that?" 

No answer. Rick just keep walking beside her, not saying anything.

"...Do you think you get to come back from them?" She asked thoughtfully.

He didn't answer right away. When he did, he gave her a small, "I hope so."

And after that, they fell silent again. Sen closed his eyes to try and find some sort of interesting topic to talk about.

"Well, I hope we answer your three questions to your satisfaction," Clara chirped, a sweet sense of hopefulness in her voice.

It wasn't until an hour or so that they finally reached a clearing in the woods. Sen was just about let out an audible "Thank god!", but stopped himself. Instead, he let out a hearty sigh of relief as Clara pointed to the small camp only several feet away. 

"It's just ahead." She chirped. 

The three of them walked up to a small camp with one tent. There was a modest sized fire pit a few feet away, along with milk crates for seating and a rusted cooking pot. As Rick and Clara stepped forward, Sen suddenly froze in his tracks. He stood there, staring at the open tent. Two sleeping bags inside, only one sleeping bag looking slept int. 

"Eddie!" He heard Clara chirp, "Oh, thank God you're still here."

Sen and Rick watched her fall to her knees in front of a small crate.

"This is Rick and Sen," She soothed, "They're gonna help us." 

The lanky 25-year old's dark eyes flicked back over to the tent. Red flags were waving and alarms were blaring in his head. Something wasn't right. Two sleeping bags. Only one looked slept in. 

"Rick," Sen called. The leader turned and watched as Sen gestured over to the tent. He looked in and saw one sleeping bag, his eyebrows furrowing. 

"Everything's gonna be okay," He heard Clara coo, "Everything—"

"RICK!" Sen barked out. The leader turned around sharply and suddenly Clara came charging at him with her dagger. The two men took a large step back, Sen frantically whipping out his gun as Rick threw her away to the ground. 

"Damn it!" Rick hissed bitterly. He quickly took out his gun and the two men walked over to her, fuming as she whimpered into the grass.

"I wanted to take the boar!" She sobbed out, "I just knew- I knew I'd get you two here so much quicker!"

Sen kept his gun pointed to her skull, his heart racing a mile a minute as he looked over to Rick. That was so close. She almost had him.

"He's starving!" She cried out, "He's slowing! He needs something alive!"

She got up on her knees and looked up at them with glassy, pained eyes, "Please, I told you, I can't be without him...And so I kept him. It was wrong." 

She started hyperventilating, her breathing heavy and harsh and quick, "I can't do things like this! And y-And you have to do things like this!"

Sen struggled to keep his gun raised as Clara's tears streaked her dirty cheeks. 

"Let me be like him!" She begged frantically, staring directly at Rick before looking over at Sen, "Don't stop it. Don't end it after." 

Sen opened his mouth to speak, but Rick managed to beat him.

"No," He said firmly.

"Let me be with him," She repeated. Sen's eyes fell to her hands as she took out her knife. Instantly he dropped his gun and reached for her.

"Wait! No!" 

"NO!" Rick cried.

Just as Sen fell to his knees, she quickly brought her arms in and stabbed herself in the stomach. Her mouth fell open in pain and she stabbed herself again. Rick looked away as Sen quickly scurried over to her, taking her in his arms as she yanked the knife out. He gently laid her down on the grass and quickly got into action, yanking off his shirt to use it to stop the bleeding.

"Jesus Christ," He muttered, quickly crumpling it into a ball and placing it on her wound, "Rick! I need your help here! We need to st-" 

He stopped as Rick's voice spoke out a firm, "Don't." He whipped his head around sharply and looked up at his leader, seeing his eyes sincere and remorseful. He was fufilling Clara's last wish, no matter how twisted it was. 

"Don't..." He repeated, shaking his head.

Sen looked at him before quickly looking down at her, watching her teary, thankful eyes as she hiccuped and gasped in pain. Rick slowly put his gun away and crouched down next to her,

"Hey," He called softly, earning a a pained look from her. 

She was still crying, gasping in short intervals, "What were... the questions? The three quest--ns?"

Sen slowly pulled his crumpled shirt from her wound and held it in his hand. He listened as Rick answered her,

"How many walkers have you killed?" He asked her.

"Eddie- Eddie k--Eddie killed- killed them all," She struggled to say, "U-Until..."

She whimpered and gasped a few times, sniffling lightly as Rick lowered his head and let out a shaky sigh.

"How many people have you killed?" He inquired.

"Just me," She gasped, "Just me."

Rick put his hand on his mouth, his lips on his wedding ring as he tried to keep from looking at her. His vision was starting to blur as his eyes stung with tears.

"Why?" He asked finally. 

"You don't- you don't--get to come back," She whimpered, "You don't get to come back...from….things...you don't..." 

Rick closed his eyes and put his head down as Clara's gasping started to cease. It wasn't long before she stopped moving altogether, and Sen slowly bowed his head and respectfully placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked over when heard footsteps and saw Rick away, stopping breifly look over at the pile of crates. He only looked at it for a second before turning away to head towards the prison, not bothering to acknowledge Sen as he disappeared into the woods. 

The lanky 25 year old slowly stood up to his feet and wiped his sweaty forehead, bidding Clara goodbye and hoping that she found Eddie in the next life. He walked over and picked up his gun, holding it firmly to his side as he walked over to what Rick was looking at. Sure enough, there was a burlap sack resting peacefully beside the firepit, something moving and squirming inside. He could make out a small mouth slowly gnashing up and down behind the cloth, a gutteral groan escaping it's lips. The tip of his index finger gently tapped on the trigger of his gun as he stared at the bag. He then shook his head and put it back in his holster, turning away and heading back into the woods. His blood-stained shirt was at hand as he pursued after Rick.

 

Kei laid in bed that night, still extremely restless after hearing about the run to the Big Spot today. Michonne had told her that a helicopter had nearly come down and killed them all. The roof caved in and walkers were coming down and it was complete chaos. It was a miracle almost everyone made it out. 

Keyword: Almost. 

Zach was killed. He got bit while trying to save Bob's life. Before they could even help him, a helicopter that had crashed on the roof earlier was caving in. The minute they got Bob out of whatever predicament he was in, Zach got bit, and the roof started coming down. Everything happened so fast. Just hearing about it made Kei's heart stop. She couldn't even fathom what Beth must have felt like right now. Poor girl.

She looked up from her bed as a figure stood in the doorway of her cell. Daryl stood there, his jaw bobbing anxiously as he folded his thick arms.

“Told Beth,” He rasped. The girl nodded lightly, tilting her head as she looked at him with worry. 

“Is she alright?”

He nodded, her eyebrows furrowing more.

"Are you alright?"

He struggled a small nod at her before stepping inside, letting out a heavy sigh through his nose. He simply kicked off his boots and plopped down onto the mattress, not moving a muscle as Kei scooted closer and took him into her arms. He buried his face into her neck, taking in her scent and warmth as her fingers ran themselves through his hair.

“...Just sucks,” He mumbled into her skin, “I liked him...”

She nodded lightly, shutting her eyes as she thought back to her last conversation with the guy.

“I liked him too,” She admitted, “He was cool."

He really was cool. While Michonne and Kei were out on a run, a small pack of walkers was closing in on them. They were getting pinned up against a wall just outside of the nearby Target. He came barreling trough and ran over the pack with his black mustang GT, carrying a woman and her husband and their newborn baby in the backseat.

The memory made her heart ache now. Zach was gone now, and he went out the same way he came into their life: selflessly, hero-like, saving someone's life.  She kissed the side of Daryl's head, burying her nose in his hair and holding him tighter. She couldn't bear to think if that were Daryl, dead and crushed under all that rubble. She was sad Zach didn't make it, truly. But at the same time, deep down in her heart of hearts, she couldn't help but be thankful that Daryl did.

  
  


“You okay, Sen?” Carl asked, looking up from his comic book. He shined his flashlight on Sen's comic book, earning the 25 year old's attention from across the mattress

“Huh?” He asked with raised brows, “Oh...Yeah man, I'm fine.”

His head lowered as he went back to reading. Carl's lips twisted to the side.

“So...what happened on the run?” He asked, failing at not sounding curious. He watched as Sen seemed to focus harder on his book.

“Nothing,” He answered simply.

“You had blood on your shirt,” The 13 year old remarked. He waited for an answer, but didn't get one for several minutes. Sen just flipped the pages, reading, blocking out whatever bothered him at the moment.

“...Walker,” He answered simply, holding the comic book up to his face before setting it back down, "Maybe you should chill with Patrick tonight, man. I'm not really..." He let out a sigh, "I had a shitty day today." 

"Patrick said he wasn't feeling too good,"  Carl explained, "I-I mean, I'd hang with him, but I don't wanna get puked on."

Sen's eyebrows raised as he nodded in understanding. Getting vomited on didn't fall under his list of ideal nights either. 

"I like hanging out with you, anyway," He admitted simply as he set his book down in his lap, "You're cool."

Sen looked at him breifly before his lips shifted up into a crooked half-smile. Carl's smile did the same as the guy across from him held out a fist. The 13 year old gently bumped it with his own and laughed as Sen reached over, ruffling his shaggy brown hair.

"You're cool too."


	44. Infected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kei, what is it?" He watched as her lips curled inward and her eyes grew glassy. She looked ready to cry.
> 
> "I have to go with them," She admitted slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Here's another update for you guys. <3  
> Are you all watching season 4B right now? CRAZY GOOD. It's on again tonight, in about 10 minutes or so, lol.  
> I'm gonna go make some tea and find a blankie.  
> Enjoy the chapter! xx

Daryl had woken up unusually early. His arms were still draped protectively over Kei's bony frame, his face gently pressed up against the space between her shoulder blades. He rubbed his sleepy eyes with one hand before letting it fall back to its former spot on her hip. He couldn't help but run his hand gently up her side, his fingertips grazing over her soft skin. He liked how warm she felt, how her body rose and fell with each breath she took. It let him know that she was alive, that she was still here with him. And though he never really expressed it to her, he was secretly thankful each day that she was.

His eyes flicked to the mattress briefly before he leaned forward. He planted a firm kiss on her shoulder before carefully getting up out of bed. He tried not disturb her as he got dressed and gathered his gear. After carefully picking up his crossbow, he gave one last look at his girl before quietly slipping out of their cell. He slid the doorway curtain shut, smirking once again at the obscenely childish pattern Kei chose.

“ _We ain't puttin' that up,” He said adamantly, shining his flashlight on the package of sheets in Kei's hand._

“ _It's cute!” She chirped, chuckling as Daryl furrowed his brows and scrunched his nose at it. He shook his head no and started turning away, shining his light further into the abandoned Target._

“ _Put it back,” He said._

“ _Daryl,” She whined lightly, gently gripping his wrist and tugging him. He turned around and watched as she jutted out her bottom lip, her big eyes all innocent and pleading, “Please?”_

_His eyes flicked over to the pink fabric, the cheery faces of Hello Kitty smiling back at him. He could hear his brother's hearty laugh from beyond the grave. He shook his head again at it,_

“ _Nah,” He said firmly, “No way in hell.”_

_He could hear her little whine in her throat and he struggled to keep from smiling. He'd never say it to her directly, but she really was adorable. He turned away once more (in attempts to hide his growing smile) and started to move when Kei stopped him again, gently tugging him towards her and holding him there. She looked up at him innocently. She even went as far as to tilt her head a little, her lip still jutted out and her eyes even bigger. She learned a lot from the puppies._

“ _Please?” She begged, leaning in and peppering his lips and jaw with kisses, “It's cute! I promise, you can pick out everything else...”_

_He could pick out everything else. Just hearing that made him realize how domesticated things were. Here they were, acting like a married couple, compromising on how to decorate their cell. It wasn't like it was an apartment or anything. Any old thing would have looked fine. But here they all were, picking out sheets and small wall decorations. There were even small conversations on painting their cell a certain color. All of this would've seemed unnecessary to the Hunter at one point. Even now it would have sounded like a waste of time, but Kei explained to him just how useful this all was. It helped them cope, it occupied them, it helped them hold onto humanity, no matter how 'martha stewart' it seemed. There was nothing wrong with setting up and establishing a small sense of the domestic life. There was nothing wrong for wanting to build a home in a world like this._

_Reflecting on that, it made the Hunter cave. He eyed his girl for a minute before he let out a huff through his nose._

“ _I hate ya,” He grumbled, shutting his eyes as a pair of lips excitedly kissed his own._

 

Kei squirmed around in her sleep, trying to get comfortable for the umpteenth time. Her muscles had been aching all night. No matter what position she slept in, no matter how awkward, her limbs and back felt like hell. It wasn't unil finally, in utter irritation that she opened her eyes. The sun was up. Daryl was long gone, probably getting breakfast or going on watch. She could hear Judith's gurgles and coos from outside. She was a talkative little thing, regardless of her very own garbled baby language. She liked to squeal a lot, getting excited over the sound of her own voice. She liked Beth's voice a lot too. She'd always calm down right away after the petite blonde sang one of her many songs.

But today, Judith's squeals were just unbearable. They were loud and shrill, piercing Kei's eardrums and rattling her already aching brain. The girl immediately grabbed the ends of her pillow and wrapped them around her head, muffling out the baby's cries.

“Jesus,”She grumbled, attempting to roll over and bury her face in the mattress. Noise. So much noise. With wolves howling and babies crying and walkers hissing. Normally, it wouldn't bother her. She was used to it. But today, for some odd reason, all of the noise seemed amplified—Like God turned up all of life's volume. It was a wonder how anyone got any sleep.

Judith let out another shrill squeal. Kei let out an audible groan. It quickly got caught in her throat and she let out a cough, her throat and chest tickling annoyingly as she tried to relieve it. Water. She needed water, some breakfast, and a whole bottle of Tylenol. That would do the trick.

The girl struggled to get up off the mattress, her muscles aching as gravity seemed to push down on her harder than usual. She managed to stand up and shuffle over to the wall where her Katana rested. She carefully picked it up and slung it over her shoulder, staggering out of her cell and over to the stairs. Water and food were the only things on her mind right now. Not Carol as she smiled at her, not Beth as she bid her good morning— just food, water, and pills. She felt like utter shit this morning, and all she wanted to do was get better fast.

“ _Tamago kake gohan,_ ” Sen chirped, setting down a bowl of rice topped with egg. He slid it over to Kei and watched as the girl grumbled something, her body hunched over with her face still glued to the table.

“Not feeling well, honey?” The guy asked, smirking as he picked up his own bowl and began stirring his meal with his chopsticks. Kei slowly peeled herself off the table and sat up straight, looking over at her best friend with a grim smile and hooded eyelids.

“...Shut up,” She mumbled, picking up her chopsticks and slowly stirring the yolk and rice together. Sen casually picked up a clump of rice with his sticks and popped it into his mouth. He watched Kei the entire time, his brows slowly falling into a concerned frown. She was looking pale.

“For real though, you okay?” He asked, looking her up and down, “You don't look so good.”

The girl nodded, slowly picking up some rice and eating it.

“I have a bad headache,” She muttered.

“Did you start Shark Week?” He asked.

“No,” The girl scoffed lightly, her mouth full with breakfast, “I just woke up feeling like shit.”

“Want me to get you something?”

Kei shook her head no, stuffing more rice in her mouth before washing it down with a bottle of water. Her throat was feeling better already. She let out a small sigh as she wiped her mouth.

“I'm gonna go see Doctor S about some pills,” She answered.

After taking several more bites, Kei claimed she was full and she slowly got out of her seat, taking her water bottle with. Sen nodded lightly to her, shutting his eyes as she reached over and ruffled his hair. He playfully swatted her hand away and watched as his best friend shuffled out of the cell block. She gave him one final wave before disappearing behind the corner and walking in Block D's direction.

 

“I'm glad you have that water bottle with you,” Dr. Subramanian chirped, handing over two little white capsules for Kei to ingest. The girl carefully took them from his hand and placed them in her mouth, guzzling down the rest of her drink.

“You should be drinking more water while you're out,” He opined, “And eating more...”

The girl's big dark eyes flicked over to the Doctor's own. Though his facial expression was neutral, his eyes were somber with genuine concern.

“Did Daryl tell you?” She asked curiously.

“He confirmed it, when I asked him,” He assured with a nod, “It's not too hard to see. We've got plenty of food available; Vegetables, meat, canned goods...”

He looked down at his dirtied sneakers with a small scoff,

“The wolves are getting chubbier while you're getting thinner,” He remarked. Kei sputtered out a small laugh and nodded with a fond “Yeah..” There was a brief silence between them before the young doctor patted his knees and then stood up straight.

“Well! If that's all, I'm gonna go finish comparing notes with Hershel,” He announced. The lanky girl nodded lightly and slid off the chair across from him, standing up straight and shaking his hand before heading for the exit.

“Now remember, I'm not saying 'go out in the woods and eat a whole deer,'” He assured her with a small laugh as he followed her to the doorway, “I'm just saying that it never hurts to finish your meals, you understand?”

A small smile formed on the girl's lips and she nodded lightly, shaking the doctor's hand once more before turning to leave. Just as she started pushing through the curtain, a body suddenly rushed through and smacked right into her. Her skull smacked into a hard chest, and something warm and wet smudged her face. She stumbled over her feet and suddenly a huge weight crashed down on her. Her head smacked against something cold and hard, and her vision suddenly went white.

She could hear Dr. S's voice. He was frantic, screaming his head off for Kei. Why was he screaming? She could hear crying, and yelling, and hissing, and gurgled growls. She could feel the weight on her shifting violently, but she couldn't see the source. Her vision was still white. Why was it so white? Did she go blind. Her eyes shifted to the right. Red.

No. It wasn't blindness. It was the curtain. Whatever knocked into her brought the curtain down with them. The curtain was stained with red. Red with blood. Blood.

Blood!

“KEI!!” Dr. S's voice screamed, now running loud and clear through her head. Kei blinked once before she realized what was going on: only a single sheet separated her from a bloody, disfigured face—one with it's teeth attempting to bite off her nose.

“Oh fuck!” She screamed, writhing and thrashing around as the Walker attempted to gnaw at her through the sheet. Doctor S quickly whipped out the knife that was strapped to his side and ran forward. He quickly got to the Walker's side and slammed his boot down, knocking the Walker in the side and shoving it over. As Kei quickly scurried off of the floor, the young doctor ran over and quickly brought the knife down into the walker's head. The two survivors didn't even have time to recover. A shotgun blast erupted form outside, along with shrill screams of utter horror. Doctor S quickly looked at Kei and the young girl quickly nodded, the two of them running outside and into the chaos.

When she stepped out of Doctor S's cell, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Blood was everywhere. All hell had broken loose. Everyone was screaming and crying. Some of D block's residents were running from others with bloodied faces and missing body parts. Walkers. Walkers were everywhere, chewing on their friends and attacking their families. She couldn't believe it. What on earth happened?

 _Walkers didn't break in here,_ He thoughts rang. There was no way.

Robert Parker lunged out at her from her right, his bloodshot eyes wide and his bloodied mouth even wider. Kei quickly took a step back and reached in back of her, pulling out her sword and whipping it around quickly. Robert's head flew off into the open cell beside him, his body falling right where it stood. The girl wasn't even given time to mourn. She quickly whipped around and sliced off both of Ana's arms before finally taking off part of her head. She ran forward and rescued 8-year old Molly from her Uncle, chopping off the hand which gripped his niece’s leg tight as he attempted to chew at it.

And that's how it went, cutting down friends and acquaintances one by one.

Orphaning children, and widowing husbands and wives. Saving people while killing others who attempted to kill her.

It was getting to a point where she couldn't tell where she was going. She headed up some steps and found more walkers waiting for her. Blood was everywhere. It splattered and splashed and flew everywhere on her skin and face, especially when she had to cut down Big Kevin—once an Animator with the best jokes, now a 6ft, 300 pound Walker looking to eat up a girl who weighed three times less than that. She hated having to cut him down, and she hated how long it took her to do it. By the time she was done, two more survivors had turned and staggered up to her. She managed to slice one head off and kicked the other one over the rails, cringing at the sound of it's skull cracking against the pavement below. As soon as she did that, silence suddenly overcame the prison. No screaming. No gunshots. Just quiet sobs and shuffling footsteps as the living walked around to take it it all in. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of her racing heartbeat. She didn't move a muscle. She could only breathe, and gasp, and shiver at the chilling sensation of the summer air against her skin now wet with blood.

She could hear boots rushing up the steps behind her. She didn't move, not until a pair of strong hands gripped her bony arms and spun her around. She stared over at Daryl's dirtied face and long hair now dripping with sweat. His thin lips moved at a rapid pace. He was talking to her. He was saying something, but she couldn't hear. She furrowed. He shook her again just as she started shutting her eyes.

“Girl!!” He barked out, finally earning her attention, “You okay?! You bit anywhere?!”

It took a second to process what he had said, but she finally understood and slowly shook her head. Daryl's wild eyes stared her over for a second before he briefly touched her bloody cheek.

“Stay back here,” He growled, quickly brushing past her. He held up his crossbow in front of him as he started inspecting the cells. His steps were light, but firm with intent like a bloodhound.

Another sound of rushed footsteps came up from behind her. The girl's eyes flicked over to her right and saw Glenn as he stepped up next to her,

“You okay?!” He asked quickly, pausing for a second as he looked from her bloodied self to the walker corpses at her feet, “Jesus...”

Kei shut her eyes briefly and nodded without a word. Glenn nodded back lightly before rushing past to follow Daryl's lead.

“Are we clear down here?!” She heard Rick yell out from below. Sasha answered him with a loud “Yeah!”, Tyreese answering afterward with a firm “All clear!” She looked to her right and watched as Rick bolted up the steps, carefully dodging the corpses sprawled out on the floor. He rushed up to Kei and looking her firm in the eyes and making sure she was okay.

“You okay? Are ya bit?” He inspected her blood-covered arms for any bite marks or gushing wounds. The girl shook her head for the third time, letting out a small and shaky “I'm fine”. The leader gave her a quick nod before brushing past, inspecting the other cells with Daryl and Glenn. As she turned away to head downstairs, the sound of growling erupted in the air. The sound made her turn around sharply, looking over and seeing Glenn wrestling against a walker that had him pinned up against the wall. He struggled and writhed around, attempting to keep his neck away as the Walker attempted to gnash at it. As she stepped forward to help, Daryl was already two steps ahead of her. He pulled his crossbow forward and shouted a loud “DOWN!”

Glenn immediately complied, sliding down to the floor just in time as an arrow whizzed by, smacking the walker in the head. Kei gripped her sword tight as she rushed up next to Daryl. She watched as Rick picked up Glenn from off the floor, patting his shoulder lightly before stepping up to the cell where the walker fell over. He quickly pulled the curtain aside and stepped to the side as the other three looked in.

The guy was young. He looked to be in his teens, with dark shaggy hair and a NASA t-shirt on.

“It's Patrick...” Daryl spoke, looking down at the trails of blood that streamed down the young boy's chin and eyes. Kei looked at the Walker a second time, furrowing as she tried to see past the dead flesh and blood. Once she did, her eyebrows raised. It _was_ Patrick. She almost didn't recognize him without his glasses. She couldn't believe it, the kid died. He was gone. Carl's friend was gone.

After a minute or so, the four of them went along in each cell to make sure the remaining corpses didn't turn. Kei walked down to the cell at the very end and looked in through the bars. Rick stepped into the cell next to hers with his knife as he took care of another corpse. The young girl gripped at the cell door and pulled a couple times. She furrowed. It was locked. She frowned and took a few steps back once she heard the hissing. She looked in and saw the walker slowly staggering towards her, staring at her with his bloody eyes. She tilted her head at it as it pressed up against the cell door. The blood trails streamed from his eyeballs, mouth, and nose—he had the same look as Patrick.

“Y'alright?” Daryl's voice rasped from beside her. She turned her head quickly, looking over at the Hunter as he eyed the creature that thrashed and hissed at his girl. He held his crossbow firmly and tilted it towards the creature's head.

“The door's locked,” Kei remarked, frowning at the corpse, “I don't think this guy was bit...”

Her eyes flicked over to Daryl's briefly before she went back to looking at the corpse. Bit or not, the guy was a walker, and she had to take care of it. She slowly put her sword back in it's sheath and got out her hunting knife instead, stepping forward and quickly reaching in to grab the walker by it's shirt collar. In one swift motion she pulled the thing forward, it's skull smacking up against the bars, and she quickly struck it in the forehead like a viper. She let go of the Walker's shirt and stepped back as it fell to the floor with a loud thud. She stared down at the corpse as she flicked her blade a few times, the excess blood flecking across the concrete in little splats.

 

While Rick and Daryl unlocked the door and inspected the body, Kei brought up the three doctors. Hershel, Doctor S, and Bob all stepped up to the cell, Doctor S being the only one with latex gloves on as he stepped inside next to Daryl. He knelt down next to the body and inspected it carefully as Rick spoke out from across from him.

“No bites, no wounds,” He remarked in disbelief, “I think he just died.”

“Horribly too,” The young Doctor sighed, “Pleurisy and aspiration.”

“Choked to death on his own blood,” Hershel interpreted, “Caused those trails down his face.”

Kei's eyes flicked over to the blood trails down the walker's face. Just like Patrick's.

“I've seen 'em before,” Rick mentioned, looking up at the Farmer, “On a walker just outside the fences.”

“Saw 'em on Patrick too,” Daryl added.

“They're from the internal lung pressure building up,” Doctor S explained, “Like if you shake a soda can and pop the top...only imagine...your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top...”

“It's a sickness...from the Walkers?” Bob asked, folding his arms as he furrowed over at the other Doctor. Doctor S shook his head,

“Nah, these things happened before they were around,” He assured, “Could be pneumococcal, most likely an aggressive flu strain.”

“Someone locked him in just in time,” Hershel chirped.

“Nah man, Charlie used to sleepwalk, locked himself in,” Daryl spoke, “Hell, he was just eatin' barbecue yesterday. How could somebody die in a day just from a cold?”

“I had a sick pig, died quick,” Rick remarked.

“I saw a sick boar while I was out in the woods,” Kei mentioned.

“Pigs n' birds, that's how these things spread in the past,” The old farmer spoke warily, looking over to Rick, “We need to do somethin' about those hogs.”

“Well, maybe we got lucky,” Kei commented, her eyes flicking over to doctor S as he nodded.

“She's right,” He replied, “Maybe these two cases...are it.”

“Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time,” Bob reckoned, “Bugs like to run through close quarters...doesn't get any closer than this...”

Hearing that made the sickly feeling in Kei's stomach grow. He was right. Hell, look at what one virus did to the entire world. It brought humanity to it's knees, and living society was barely getting by. If the beatings they took from the walker sickness wasn't bad enough, this new super flu was sure to do the trick. There was no escaping it, and there was no reasoning with it. Any one of them could get sick and die and end up like Charlie or Patrick, and that thought alone made the girl want to hunch over and vomit.

“All of us in here,” Hershel spoke out, “We've all been exposed...”

She didn't want to think about that. It made her throat twist and burn, the bile in her stomach bubbling and churning.

“We need to call a meetin',” Daryl declared, “Figure out what to do.”

She had to get out of that cell. The smell, the sight of all that blood—she was on the verge of gagging. She quietly broke away as the men conversed with each other on their next move. Daryl was the only one who noticed her leave in a hurry. She was practically sprinting out of Block D once she reached the end of the stairs, and once she ended up outside in the morning sun, she heaved up everything onto the grass.

 

Sen rushed out of the cellblock and down the steps like a bat out of hell, swinging open the entrance to the metal corridor. He looked over and saw Carl and Maggie helping Michonne along the courtyard, the poor woman limping on one foot.

“Jesus christ,” He muttered to himself, running out onto the pavement to meet them. “Are you okay?!”

Carl was the first to break away and sprint towards him. He practically leapt into the 25 year old's arms, holding him in a tight and desperate embrace. The young nurse couldn't help but kiss the top of the boy's head, something he wouldn't even dream of doing on a regular day, but losing him was almost like losing a brother. He couldn't go through that, not a second time.

“I'm so glad you're safe,” Sen muttered through the boy's hair, pulling away to look at him, “Are you alright? You hurt anywhere?”

The 13 year old wiped his teary eyes and shook his head, sniffling as he tried to calm his racing heart. It only seemed to speed up more once he realized that his dad nor his sister was with Sen.

“W-Where's Judith?!” He asked, his blue eyes widening, “And my dad? Are they okay?! Wh—”

Sen shushed him quietly before he could go into a panic attack. He placed his hands the boy's shoulders before taking him into another firm hug, letting him know that things were okay.

“She's fine,” He asserted, having secured Beth and the baby in the cellblock before leaving, “Your dad's fine, too. We're all fine...”

He broke away once more to look over at Maggie and Michonne.

“What happened?” Michonne asked, Sen shaking his head and shrugging in response. He was just as lost as they were. One minute he was helping Beth feed Judith, and the next there's gunshots going off, and Sasha's running in like a bat out of hell locking the cell doors.

Before Maggie could open her mouth to speak, Rick stepped out from the inner courtyard entrance. Carl made a beeline straight for him, ignoring his father as he stepped back and held out his bloodied hands.

“Hey, you might wanna stay back—Carl!” Too late. Carl dove into his dad's arms and held him tight, breaking down into hysterics once more as his dad carefully wrapped his arms around him.

“Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't see you come out!” He whimpered.

“It's okay,” The leader soothed, gently pushing his son off him, “I'm here, I'm fine...back away.”

The preteen obeyed and took a few steps back, sniffling slightly before wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“I used one of the guns by the gate,” He confessed suddenly, “I swear, I didn't want to.”

“I was comin' back,” Michonne added in quickly, “I fell. They came out and helped me.”

“You alright?” The leader asked.

Michonne nodded lightly, her eyes still on him as Maggie opened her mouth to speak,

“What happened in there?”

Just as she finished, the sound of sniffling suddenly rang in the air. Sen turned around and saw Clara looking white as a sheet—whiter than the one she had wrapped around the small body in her arms. She continued to quietly cry as she walked on towards the the graveyard in the lower field, her eyes never leaving her daughter's sleeping form.

“Patrick got sick last night,”

Rick's voice pulled the 25 year old back to the conversation. He turned around and faced the leader, his eyes widening slightly as he went on to explain what happened,

“Some kind of flu, moves fast...We think he died and attacked the cell block...”

Carl stood there frozen, furrowing only slightly as he tried to process what he had just heard. His best friend, the one he was just talking to yesterday...he was...

“Look, I know—I know he was your friend and i'm sorry,” “He was a good kid. We lost a lot of good people...”

Hearing that made Sen's heart shoot up in his throat, he took a step forward before stopping. Block D. Kei was...

“Glenn and your dad are okay, but they were in there,” He told Maggie, quickly looking over at Sen, “Kei was too. She's fine, Daryl's with her.”

He let out an audible sigh of relief before muttering a 'thank god' under his breath.

“You shouldn't get too close to anyone who might've been exposed,” He instructed, “At least for a little while...Carl, all of you.”

The Leader's son nodded before rushing back to Michonne's side, continuing to help her along towards their Cell block. After they left, it was just Sen and Rick—both of them standing there, several feet away from each other. Sen shifted a little before stepping forward, Rick instantly taking a step back.

“Don't,” He said. Sen watched as his leader's eyes fell to the pavement briefly before looking away, every other way, avoiding him. lips pursed as he obeyed, taking a hesitant step back instead. His fists clenched and relaxed on and off, his lips twisting to the side as he tried to fight whatever it was that tried desperately to get past his lips. After what happened, the way he just saw Clara, he needed to tell Rick.

“Can I be honest with you?” He asked out, watching as he earned a light nod from his leader, “...I'm happy you're okay.”

And then he looked. Rick finally looked at him, his expression barely readable through the 25 year old's high anxiety that currently coursed through him like a flood. Get it out. Tell him.

“I was scared,” He admitted, struggling out a shaky scoff, “I mean—I thought something might have happened to-to Carl, or to you, or to Kei and—It...It scared the shit out of me...”

His eyes immediately fell tot he pavement, his lips curling inward as he tried to keep from visibly shaking. God, he sucked at this.

“And if I could hug you right now, I would,” He admitted, “I-I mean, I...I was scared...that you...”

He immediately smacked a hand to his face and groaned, anxiety quickly getting replaced with embarrassment.

“Shit,” He grunted, quickly shaking his head and heading for the door, “Nevermind, I didn't say anything. Forget I even...forget it.”

He made it to the corridor's steps, mentally swearing and kicking himself before he heard Rick call his name. The young nurse stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head, struggling to look the Sherriff in the eye.

“I need you to keep an eye on Judy for a while,” He spoke, his voice surprisingly soft given what happened only moments ago, “Can you do that for me? Until this gets better?”

Sen nodded instantly, struggling a small, nervous smile as his leader nodded and thanked him. He then turned away sharply, going up the steps and resuming his mental scolding. He was about ready to sprint up the stairs and hide away somewhere when Rick's voice stopped him once again,

“Sen,” He called after him, causing the dark haired man to turn around, “If I could, I'd hug ya too.”

The young nurse blinked a few times, only semi-registering what his leader had just said. Before he could even open his mouth to respond, Rick was already turning away to head back into the prison.

“It's good to see ya safe,” He called.

 

 

Kei stood outside the door, her arms folded as she listened in on the council meeting. As far as anyone else knew, she was outside taking a walk, clearing her head and trying to collect herself afte what happened. Truthfully though, she was throwing up. Throwing up and sweating and crying her eyes out behind a dumpster.

She was getting sick.

No. She _is_ sick.

Sick with what Patrick had? No idea. She was terrified though. Terrified on the inside that she would become what Patrick and Charlie were. She didn't want that, especially since she knew Daryl would fight tooth and nail to stay with her the entire time. She'd hate to die one night and end up attacking him. She had to hear what the council decided on doing with the sick.

"Patrick was fine yesterday," She heard Carol say, her voice monotone, grim, "And he died overnight... two people died that quick?...We have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cellblock...that's all of us. Maybe more," Daryl rasped. His voice made Kei want to cry again. Her throat burned and tears started to well in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away before any could spill out.

"We know that this sickness can be lethal," Hershel recapped, "We don't know how it spreads...Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?"

" _Me,_ " Kei thought sadly.

"We can't just wait and see," Carol muttered, her voice sounding firm, almost bitter, "There's children. It isn't just an illness, people die... they become a threat."

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D," Hershel said firmly, "We can't risk going in there to clean it up."

"We can use cellblock A," Carol offered.

"Death row?" Glenn asked, "That isn't much of an upgrade."

"It's clean, that's an upgrade," Daryl's raspy voice replied, "Think that'll work for Doctor S?"

"I'll go get it set up." Hershel spoke. Before any other conclusions were made, a loud, straining cough came from the hallway. Kei perked up and froze as Karen and Tyreese turned the corner. The spindly woman with dark hair had her mouth covered as she coughed. Hard. Kei took a step back, pinning herself up against the wall as the sound of chairs skidding across tile echoed from the library. They were coming out to see who the cougher was.

Tyreese gave Kei an odd look before smiling lightly as he walked past, turning his attention back to Karen, whom he held close as they both walked past the library.

"You okay?" Ty asked. Karen nodded and gave him a simple "mhmm". Carol popped her head out of the library just in time,

"You sure?" She asked out, her tone and facial expression radiating blatant wariness, "You don't sound so good..."

The couple stopped in their tracks and turned to face her, watching as Sasha, Glenn, Daryl, and Hershel all stepped out to look at them.

"I'm just takin' her back to my cell so she can rest." Tyreese replied nonchalantly, rubbing Karen's arm lovingly as Hershel put his hands on his hips.

"Tyreese... I don' think that's a good idea" He sighed.

"Why?" Karen asked as she looked back at Hershel, "What's going on now?"

"We...think it's a flu or something," Glenn answered with disappointment, "We think that's how Patrick died."

"Judith is in that cellblock," Hershel explained as he stepped up to her, "She's vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick, or even exposed, must stay away."

"I-it killed Patrick?" Karen asked, her tone full of surprise and growing worry. Tyreese continued to rub her arm in comfort.

"She's gonna be okay," He said to Hershel, his eyes widening slightly, "Now we know what Patrick died from, we can treat it, right?"

"Don't panic, we're gonna figure this out," Hershel assured, "But we should keep you separated in the meantime. We'll have Caleb take a look at ya, I'll see what we have in the way of medications."

"...David..." Karen said after some thought, "From the Decatur group, he's been coughing too..."

"I'll get him." Glenn volunteered, "There's some uh... empty clean cells in the tombs, right?"

"Yeah, we'll meet you there, " Sasha spoke. Glenn nodded to her lightly and quickly disappeared behind the corner. Tyreese's sister turned to look back at her older brother, stepping up beside him and patting him on the back. "Come on, let's get you settled."

"I'll have to call another meetin' later," Hershel announced as he watched Sasha guide Tyreese and Karen back through the hallways. The hunter nodded lightly.

"Alright..." He spoke, pulling his crossbow up and tossing the strap over his shoulder, "I'll get to buryin' the dead ones."

"You wear gloves and a mask," Hershel warned. Daryl nodded back in reply, leaving Hershel to go find Dr. S and Carol to go check on the recently orphaned Lizzie and Mika. He turned to look over at Kei, who leaned back against the wall with her eyes to her feet. He narrowed his eyes and walked up to her, tilting his head slightly,

"Y'alright?"

Knocked back from her thoughts, she looked over at Daryl with slightly widened eyes and immediately took a step away from him. Daryl furrowed and she looked at him oddly, like she was almost afraid of him. The hunter knew that was absurd. He took another step forward.

"S'wrong?" He reached out to her and she stepped back further, "Kei..."

She shook her head rapidly, not saying a word to him. He asked her again. No answer. She hesitated to say it. Daryl narrowed his eyes at the worry in her own, something was obviously bothering her.

"Kei, what is it?" He watched as her lips curled inward and her eyes grew glassy. She looked ready to cry.

"I have to go with them," She admitted slowly.

"Why?"

"...I'm sick," She confessed, her voice cracking as she tried to keep from crying, "Daryl, I've been sick all day, I have to g—"

Before she could get out another word, her voice caught in her throat and she let out a loud, hoarse cough. She quickly threw her arm over her mouth and took several steps back, trying to avoid the nervous stare that her hunter was giving her. He kept walking towards her, and she held a hand up to him, signaling for him to stop.

"Stay ther—!" She let out another cough, gasping slightly as she tried to regain her breath, "Stay there..."

"How come ya didn't tell nobody?" He asked, his voice sounding more raspy and wounded. He watched as Kei wiped her moist forehead and took a few much needed breaths.

"Doctor S...knows...and Sen knows," She breathed, shaking her head and whimpering, "Babe, I have to go with them."

"No," He said firmly, quickly stepping up to her before she even had a chance to push him away, "We gotta go talk to Hershel."

Daryl tugged at her arm and attempted to drag her over to where he knew Hershel was, but the girl pulled away from him,

"Daryl," She grunted, pulling away and taking a few steps back, "I can't go back with you!"

"Yes ya can!" He said sternly, "He can get ya on meds. Do whatever it takes to make ya better."

"Baby," She breathed, her lips pursing again as she struggled to hold back tears, "Judith's in there...You know I have to....I'm going to have to stay in the tombs with Kar--"

"No," He repeated, his jaw bobbing up and down as he attempted to walk to her. She kept taking a step back and she could see how it frustrated him. A mix of emotions were running across his face; confusion, hurt, worry, anger. She could tell he wanted to hold her, and on a normal day she wouldn't refuse, but she couldn't risk him ending up in the tombs with her, laying sick in bed with the chance of dying the next morning.

"K—" He paused, pacing from side to side slightly as he looked to her. His breathing was growing harsh through his nose, his heart racing. It was breaking him, the thought of her getting sick, so sick that she could die anytime during the night. They needed Hershel. They needed medicine, now.

The girl watched as Daryl ran a hand through his dirty hair and continued to excessively pace, looking at her from time to time. She could've sworn that if he were a dog right now, he'd be whimpering and whining, much like the wolves did.

"We're plenty away from C," He reasoned out, tossing an arm in their cellblock's direction, "Ain't no reason for ya to stay in the tombs with 'em." The agitation and confusion in his eyes was starting to break her heart. She needed to put her foot down on this, make him listen.

"It's my decision, Daryl," She spoke, following him with her eyes as he continued to pace, "It's what I want. The council said—"

She shot back when Daryl took a step forward closer to her, "I don't give a shit what the council says." His low, raspy voice echoed in her ears, making her step back and recoil a little. His eyes were firm and dark, an instant reminder of his old wounded animal self, snapping his jaws and lashing out at anything and anyone.

Her hand impulsively started to reach out for him, but she quickly drew it back to her chest.

"Daryl..." She said quietly, "...I'm going."

Her dark eyes flicked over to his stormy blues, watching as his lips drew to a thin line before he turned away sharply.

"Ya ain't stayin' in the tombs with 'em," Kei opened her mouth to protest, but Daryl stopped her as he stalked away firmly and turned the corner, "I'll go talk to Hershel!"


	45. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Somebody dragged them out here! And set 'em on fire!” Tyreese boomed suddenly, making everyone jump, “They killed them and set 'em on fire!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all see last week's episode? I'm actually kinda torn down the middle about it. I mean I can see where they were going with Beth, or at least trying to anyway, but i feel like maybe a few things could have been done differently. I guess I still liked it though, I thought the ending was cute and funny ^.^

Clothes, blankets, and pillows. The necessary items. A journal to write in, some books to read, anything to pass the time, when she wasn't vomiting up her insides. Daryl helped her pack her things without saying a word. He was frustrated, his brows furrowed and his jaw bobbing rapidly. He was frustrated at Hershel, the man wholeheartedly agreeing with Kei on relocating to the tombs with David and Karen. Hershel tried to assure the hunter that she would be safe, but the man knew better. He couldn't protect her from the disease in there. He hated it.

He hated seeing a side of their bed empty and a pillow short. He hated how she wore a bandanna around her nose and mouth to keep her coughing from spreading. He hated having to accept that they would be separated for an unknown amount of time. He hated it. He hated everything.

“Things will work out,” Kei spoke, smiling weakly under her bandanna, even though Daryl couldn't see it. After shoving the last of her shirts in her rucksack, Daryl swiftly picked it up and shouldered it, grabbing the duffle bag beside her as well. The lanky girl carefully got up off the floor and followed him out of their cell. The hunter didn't say a word.

“It's true,” She remarked thoughtfully, “We've been separated for much longer...”

“Yeah, 'n look how that turned out,” She heard him mumble, a frown flashing across her face. She had stopped walking for a second before starting up again, quickly trailing after him as they left the cell block.

“We ended up together again,” She remarked, staring intently at the back of him, “And we will again. Once this is over.”

Another small “ _tch._ ” escaped his lips, and that made Kei stop altogether. She stared at the hunter in disbelief as he kept walking.

“Daryl,” She called firmly, secretly surprised that he actually stopped. He didn't turn around right away, so instead she walked up to him, stepping around and turning to face him directly. Sure enough, he was looking down with his lips pursed and his brows furrowed.

She stared up at him and watched as his jaw bobbed and his eyes avoided hers.

“Tell me what's wrong,” She plead. The hunter kept his eyes glued to the floor, refusing to look at her as he shook his head.

“Just forget it,” He growled, taking step forward before being stopped by a pair of bony hands. His girl gently reached up and cupped his face, staring at him intently with furrowed brows.

“No, don't shut down on me,” She said firmly, holding his face there so he couldn't turn away, “I want to hear it from you. _Tell me what's wrong._ ”

The hunter's lips impulsively curled in as he tried to keep it in.

“Don't want ya in there,” He admitted, “I...”

He paused, taking in a small breath through his nose before finally letting the last of it slip, “...I can't look after ya if yer in there.”

Her heart suddenly ached at the sight of him—the wounded look that appeared on his face and stayed there as he anxiously chewed on the nail of his thumb. The girl gently reached up and tugged his hand away from his mouth, holding it tight as she leaned in and gently pressed her forehead against his.

“I don't want ya to die,” He confessed, “I don't wanna come back and find ya like...”

If only she could kiss him. She wanted to so badly. She just wanted to kiss him and hug him and run her hands through his hair. She wanted to let him know that things would be okay.

“I don't want to either,” She replied honestly, gently rubbing her thumb over the scarred knuckles on his hand, “But I don't want you, or Judith, or anyone else to get sick either. You understand?”

Daryl gently lifted his head and took a small step back, nodding with pursed lips as he gripped onto Kei's hand a little tighter. He slowly let go and the two of them continued on towards the tombs. Kei stopped the both of them halfway down the hall, the faint sound of coughing coming from Karen and David already settled into their respective cells.

Daryl slowly handed over her things and watched as she carefully shouldered her bags, his jaw bobbing rapidly as she let out a shaky sigh. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, trying to hold back from leaning in and kissing her. Instead he shut his eyes and listened to the sound of her strained whimpers and ragged breaths as she tried to keep from crying.

“You have to promise me you'll stay away until I'm better,” She muttered.

“No,” He said quickly.

“Daryl,”

“ _No_ ,” He repeated, this time more firmly, “No...”

He tilted his head up and kissed her forehead. He didn't care. He was already exposed, he told himself. He just wanted to feel her skin again, one last time before they would be separated.

“I'll make you better,” He breathed as he rested his forehead on hers once more, “The three of ya. I will. I'll do whatever I have to.”

Kei screwed her eyes shut, quickly swiping away the tears that started creeping down her cheeks.

“You'll take care of Ren and Ame for me?” She requested with a sharp sniffle, “The pups too. Make sure they get plenty of exercise.”

The hunter nodded firmly, kissing her moist forehead once more before she stepped away. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and turned away, slowly walking down the hall. Her hunter watched the entire time. The further and further she got, the more and more Daryl started to miss her. He wanted to walk her down there, lay in bed with her, take care of her until she was better.

They gave each other one last glance before Kei disappeared behind the corner.

  


Sen was on his fifth cigarette that morning. It seemed to be the only thing calming him down right now. He couldn't think of anything else. He couldn't focus. His eyes stayed on the fence in the lower courtyard. Through the smokey haze he could see more and more walkers seeping out of the woods. Some of them were bound to be diseased, and bound to infect more fence cleaners. They got David. They got Karen. Now it had Kei.

“Sen,” He heard a man say. Hershel and Caleb were saying something to him. He didn't catch any of it. His dark eyes flicked to the right and stared over at them.

“We need you to help round up the wolves,” Hershel repeated, “Keep 'em locked inside the basketball court for the time bein'. We'll feed 'em, give 'em water...There'll be plenty of room to run around.”

“Does Kei know?” Sen asked, taking a small puff from his cigarette.

“She's given permission,” The farmer assured, “They should follow without a fuss.”

“I'm going to need your help monitoring the infected's conditions as well,” Caleb instructed, “We need to keep a time stamp on symptoms, side-effects on medications, anything that could possibly help us treat future cases. This thing is going to spread, there's no way around it.”

“We're gonna need your nursing skills now more than ever,” Hershel added, looking Sen square in the eye. The young survivor nodded firmly and instantly his eyes flicked over to the cell block entrance. Rick walked out with Shadow following closely beside him, the young wolf occasionally sniffing the pavement along the way. The leader walked up to the small circle of medical experts, looking at them with a small sense of hope on his face.

“So, what do we have?” He inquired.

“Ibuprofen, Tylenol...” Hershel answered.

“All good fever reducers,” Caleb finished, “But nothing that's going to effectively help fight off the symptoms.”

“We need antibiotics,” Sen added, letting out a smokey sigh. He tilted his head back to look up at Rick, “Hershel's calling a council meeting later on...”

Both he and Hershel looked at the leader, a small hint of expectancy on their faces. They were waiting for him to nod authoratively and say “I'll be there,” stepping up like he usually did. Instead he nodded without a word and looked on towards the lower courtyard, Daryl already there in the fields digging graves. He looked down at Shadow and muttered a small “Stay”. The wolf pup obeyed, laying down next to his brother Eli at Hershel's feet. The old farmer leaned over and gently petted the two, sighing as he watched Rick stalk away along the gravel path. He still avoided it—being the leader again.

“He'll step up eventually,” Sen sighed, placing the cigarette back in his mouth as he stood up, “Men like Rick rarely ever stay idle. He's still the good guy, it's practically fused into his DNA, his _moral code._ ”

Both Hershel and Caleb stood up and said a small goodbye before sliding out of their seas, Hershel calling both Eli and Shadow along to the basketball court. Sen took a small hit from his cig and let it out in a breathy, smoke-filled sigh before turning around. He had some wolves to collect; Lor and Haru from the field, Summer and Chiyo from the cellblock, and Ren and Ame from the kids in the library.

Just as he was about to head back into the cell block, her heard Maggie let out a shrill “Rick!!” at the top of her lungs. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, watching as she raced across the lower courtyard.

“Daryl!!” She called out, rushing across the yard and stopping to turn, “The fence!!”

Sen's eyes flicked over towards the outer fences. Sure enough, a whole group of Walkers were piling up, and the outermost fence was starting to cave in.

“Oh, _shit!_ ” He let out, breaking into a dead sprint towards the cell block to grab his gear.

 

He held his staff tight as he sprinted down the gravel pathway and into the metal corridor. He could see Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, and Daryl already hard at work, shoving their knives and melee weapons through the holes in the fence. The lanky man ran up next to Daryl and Rick and shoved his staff through the fence, striking a Walker through the eye socket. One by one, more walkers fell, and the more that fell, more would come up and take their place.

They continued on for several minutes, and the weight was beginning to take it's toll on the fence.

It creaked and rattled and squealed as more bodies piled up on it. The walker in front of Sen was beginning to seep through the fence in little chunks, the metal cutting through the creature's skin like a wire saw to a slab of meat. The weight was too much for either them to handle. Sen took a step back for a brief second and wiped his sweaty forehead, huffing in slight exhaustion as he looked at the slew of Walkers up against the fence. More of them had piled up, and that made the young adult swear at himself. There was no way they could clear all these bodies out like this. They longer they stayed at the fences, the more Walkers were going to show up.

“Are you seeing this?!” Sasha yelled out suddenly. Sen turned his head towards her, watching as she and Tyreese looked at a certain spot in the grass, alongside the edge of the fence. They all started gravitating towards where she was pointing, and Sen stared down at the small pile of dead, half-eaten rats in confusion and disbelief. Half eaten rats on the _inside_ of the fence. That meant...

“Is someone feeding these things?!” Sasha asked, her voice hoarse with exhaustion and surprise.

“Heads up!” Daryl called out, grabbing everyone's attention once more. His part of the fence was starting to keel over, a couple walkers managing to clambor up and latch on like insects on a web.

“This part of the fence, NOW!” Sasha yelled, everyone herding around and racing to eliminate the walkers that kept climbing on. Sen stood up next to Maggie and together they shoved their weapons through the holes in the fence, using all their strength go as fast as they could to lighten the load. The fence suddenly pushed forward and ended up being ten times closer to their faces than before. Sen felt a hand firmly grip the back of his shirt and yank him back, Glenn pulling him close as the fence bulged out and the walkers got even more riled up. Rick was the first to lunge forward and push against it with all his might, trying his hardest to keep it from caving in any further.

“It's gonna give!!” He yelled over the incessant hisses and growls, “IT'S GONNA GIVE! HELP!”

Tyreese and Sen leapt into action, the rest following within a heartbeat. Together, the seven of them pushed against the fence line, using all their strength against 30 walkers and a large metal wall.

“It's not working!!” Glenn yelled, trying to keep his footing as his boots slowly skidded against the gravel. Sen pressed his arms up against the fence, shifting positions in various ways in attempts to use his weight against the teetering wall of chain-link.

“We need to lighten the load!!” He barked over to Rick, “Get them away from the fence! It's the only way we can get it back up!”

A sudden wave of weight came crashing down as more walkers piled on, and finally, his feet slipped and his knobby knees gave out. As he fell over and hit the gravel, the fence suddenly pushed forward a solid foot or so. The minute he heard something snap he immediately scrambled to his feet and took several steps back. Daryl called for everyone to take a step back as well, the remaining five all getting away from the fence as it caved in further.

“If the fence keeps bending in like this, those walkers are coming over!” Sasha barked, turning her head to look at Rick for a solution. The others looked to him as well, and watched as he stared over at the pig pen. An idea suddenly flashed across the leader's mind, Hershel's words from earlier echoing in his brain.

“ _We need to do somethin' about those hogs.”_

The very idea made Rick's stomach twist and his heart sink, but there was no other way around it. He had to do whatever he needed to keep this place going, and this group safe.

If that cost him 3 piglets, then so be it.

“Daryl, get the truck,” He instructed firmly, looking over at the hunter, “I know what to do...”

  


Kei woke up with a start, letting out one of the most violent coughs. It rattled her sternum and practically set her whole throat and chest on fire. She hunched over the bed, coughing hard a couple times before gagging and sputtering on air. It was like this since she entered her cell, the sickness getting worse and worse. It felt like her body was losing the fight.

“Shit,” she muttered, taking a few much needed breaths as she tried to collect herself. After a few minutes, she slowly dragged herself off the bed and staggered over to her rucksack, pulling out a water bottle and some tissues. She twisted the cap off and took a hearty gulp, the cool liquid soothing her burning throat a little. She took the bottle to bed and got under the blankets, snuggling her pillow close as she tried to shut her eyes. She listened to the sound of Karen and David's coughing, counting the intervals between them like counting sheep. She could feel her eyes drooping to a complete close, her aching, shivering body falling into a relaxed state. Sleep was just on the horizon. She let out a hearty sigh and secretly wished Daryl goodnight before officially shutting her eyes.

And then they snapped wide open.

She heard something. An odd sound, not quite a cough, and not quite a gag. She shifted, rolling her body over and lifting herself to sit up straight. She stared at her door. She could hear feet shuffling.

“Karen?”

Silence. Karen must have passed out already. But what was that noise?

“David?” She called out, her voice relatively weak, but still loud enough to be heard in the tombs.

No answer. She could only hear the sound of boots pattering against the concrete, and shifting, constant shifting. The girl furrowed as she leaned over and pressed her ear up against the cold stone wall beside her. She closed her eyes, listening closely to the sound of grunting before the loud, menacing sound of a thud. It made her jump slightly. Something had hit the floor hard.

“Karen?!” She called out, louder this time, “Karen are y—”

Her voice got cut off by another series of violent coughs. Once more her throat burned and the bones in her chest rattled and ached. She clutched her chest with one hand as she screwed her eyes shut, the pain becoming too much as she coughed more and more. She brought the blanket up to her mouth and screwed her eyes shut, hot tears starting to creep out and trickle down her cheeks. Once her coughing subsided, she let out a few gasping breaths, quickly reaching for her water bottle and downing it's contents. She quickly wiped her mouth and looked down at her blanket, a small red stain resting on the spot where she coughed. Seeing it made her heart race and her stomach drop. Blood. She was coughing blood.

“ _Shit,”_ She hissed, wiping her mouth and eyes before perking up at the sound of a cell door creaking open. Walkers couldn't open doors, at least to her knowledge. Someone living was outside in the hall. Either Karen or David. Was it them, though? Why didn't they answer her?

“Karen?!” She called again, “David?!”

She could hear a noise, a long, drawn out noise that was so odd, yet somehow familar. Something relatively heavy was getting dragged across the floor. She could hear scraping and scratching and grunting and boots hitting the concrete floor. Someone was out there, and she had to find out who.

She slowly dragged herself off the bed. She struggled to keep her footing as she staggered across her cell, reaching into her bag and pulling out her knife. Karen and David weren't answering her. Whoever was out there wasn't answering her. Something was wrong.

She slowly walked over to the edge of her cell, and tried to peer through the dimly lit hallway. Nothing outside her room, so far so good. She slowly pulled open the door, listening to it creak and groan.

“Karen...” She called quietly. No answer.

She slowly approached Karen's cell, her eyes widening with each step she took. Karen wasn't in her bed. Karen wasn't on the floor. Karen wasn't there.

In her place was blood.

Blood on the pillows, blood on the mattress, blood on the floor. So much was on the floor, smeared and splattered everywhere. It lead to Kei's feet and quickly pointed left down the hallway that lead to the basketball court. Kei's heart dropped and her stomach twisted in agony. Karen was...

Her eyes widened and she quickly took a step forward towards David's cell.

“David!!” She yelled, “David! Karen's—”

She looked into David's cell. At least it wasn't empty. In fact, it was quite the opposite. David was inside, but he laid sprawled out on the floor, a pool of his own blood surrounding the back of his head like a morbid halo. Kei covered her mouth in utter shock and turned around sharply to head for the cell blocks. She had to get Rick. Sen. Daryl. Anyone!

She only managed to take a couple steps forward before the sound of boots rushed up from behind her. She turned around once to look and before she could act, a the killer ran up to her and smacked her in the head with something rock solid. Kei's vision flashed hot white and her body instantly went limp. And before she knew it, she was falling to the ground.

“I'm sorry...” The voice muttered softly in her ears, “I'm so, so sorry...”

  


Tyreese stared at the scene for what seemed like ages. Minutes seemed like hours to him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The smoke, the charred flesh, the tattered clothing. Their bodies were mangled and burned black, the only thing still intact was the bracelet she wore religiously on her left wrist. That's how he knew it was her. His Karen. She was gone. Dead. Burned to nothing. As was David.

“You found 'em like this?” Rick's voice asked, bringing Tyreese back to the courtyard with Sen, Daryl, and Carol. He turned to look at the leader before wordlessly turning back, looking at his woman now dead before him.

“I came to see Karen...” He answered, watching as smoke wafted from her mangled skin. He turned away, pointing over to the twin trails of smeared blood that lead back into the tombs, “...I saw all the blood on the floor...and then i smelled her...”

Sen stared down at the two burned corpses, trying to keep from vomiting from the smell.

“Somebody dragged them out here! And set 'em on fire!” Tyreese boomed suddenly, making everyone jump, “They killed them and set 'em on fire!!”

Alarms suddenly blared off in the young adult's head. A storm was brewing inside Tyreese—a hidden beast that, once off his leash, could not be controlled by anyone. He played a sport that fed off aggression and anger for a living, and all that was about to come out if they all didn't tread carefully.

Tyreese took a huge step forward towards Rick. Sen took a step forward as well, but Daryl beat him to it. He got up behind Tyreese, quickly pacing from side to side and eyeing the stocky man with wary eyes. The young nurse was impressed, to say the least. He reacted quickly, analyzing, calculating, much like Kei and the Wolves did with a potential threat to one of their own.

Rick didn't move a muscle as Tyreese looked him dead in the eye.

“You a cop,” He growled, “You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me, you understand?! You bring 'em to me!”

He brought his fists to his large chest as he pointed to himself, aggression and animal-like behavior practically radiating off of him. Daryl took a careful step forward and reached out for him, attempting to carefully take his arm and try to lead him a good distance away from Rick.

“Hey man, we're gonna find out who did thi—” Tyreese violently jerked his arm away just as Daryl tried to hold it.

“I need to say it again?!” Tyreese growled to the leader. Rick held his hands out, trying to calm the man down as he spoke in a tone much less harsh,

“No, no, I know what you're feelin',” He said carefully, “I've been there, you saw me there, it's dangerous—”

“Karen didn't deserve this!” The stocky man barked out, “David didn't deserve it! Nobody does!”

“Alright man,” Daryl huffed, reaching forward and taking Tyreese by the arm, “I know it's pretty tough right n—”

The hunter was thrown off as Tyreese suddenly whipped around, grabbing him by the shirt collar and charging forward.

“I AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE TILL I FIND OUT WHO DID THIS!” He boomed in hysterics. He violently slammed Daryl up against the wall and the hunter immediately held his hands out, signaling for the other three to stop as they started to rush to his aid. Daryl stared firmly into Tyreese's wild eyes, his large body heaving up and down with every breath he took. The hunter could tell he was seeing red right now, and he needed to calm down. So, he did nothing to provoke him further, to fight back. Instead he stood there, letting Ty grip his shirt collar and keep him pinned.

“We're on the same side, man,” He rasped, his voice surprisingly soft.

“Hey, look,” Rick said lowly, reaching a hand out towards Tyreese's back, “I know what you're going through...we've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you—you gotta calm down.”

He patted Tyreese's shoulder once and the man seemed to explode. He let Daryl go and swung around, violently shoving Rick away. Sen and Carol quickly stepped up beside him, both of them holding their hands out in attempts to keep them away from each other. Rick backed off for only a second before taking a step forward, opening his mouth to say one final word,

“She wouldn't want you bein' like this—”

Carol let out a scream as Tyreese swung his fist around and clocked Rick right in the face. Sen immediately jumped in as Rick fell to his knees, attempting to get between them to prevent further damage.

“Ty!!” He yelled, “Jesus christ, dude! What the hell?!”

“Stop!!” Carol yelled, attempting to run up beside him. Sen immediately held his hands out and tried pushing her away. In case Tyreese decided to swing again, he'd rather it be his own face than hers.

“Carol, stay back!!” Sen barked, attempting to pull the frantic woman away.

“Tyreese! NO!” She screamed out. Just as Rick started to get to his feet, Ty slammed his fist down into his cheek, blood splattering out of his mouth and hitting the pavement. Sen immediately let go of Carol and rushed over to Rick's side, protectively holding him by the arm and side as Daryl took care of the livid Football star. The hunter grabbed him by the arms and held him back, the man struggling against his grip and growling like a rabid animal. The young nurse was absolutely at a loss on how it escalated so quick. It was all happening so fast. None of them had any time to think. 

“Rick,” He called lowly, looking down at the leader's face now bleeding from where Tyreese had punched him. "Rick, are you okay?"

He could feel the sheriff's muscles shaking under his touch—not because of fear or tears of pain, but anger. Pure anger. He was pissed at Tyreese, and he was hellbent on showing him just how pissed he was. The young nurse knew he had to stop this now, before anyone else ended up getting killed.

“Rick,” Sen muttered quickly, “Rick don't. Just—Just walk away, okay? Walk awa—”

Admittedly, he was a little thrown off when Rick violently jerked his arm away and quickly got up without a struggle. He started walking in Ty and Daryl's direction, and shoved Sen away each time he got too close. Every step of the way, the young nurse tried to reason with the sheriff as he made a beeline for Tyreese. He was currently being held back firmly by Daryl, which meant his defenses were down, and his face was an open target. Rick knew that, and was planning to act on it.

He took full advantage of the opportunity and took a violent swing, smacking Tyreese square in the jaw with his fist. The impact made Daryl let go and the large man toppled over onto the pavement. Rick didn't even give him time to recoup. He charged forward and kicked him in the side, Ty rolling over on his back and writhing in agony. The leader immediately hovered over him and started going to town, delivering blow after blow, the sounds of bones breaking and skin clashing ringing in the air.

“RICK!” Sen yelled, noticing the blood that was covering his fist and Tyreese's face. He rushed up and attempted to grab his swinging arm. If he went on any further, he was going to lose that hand.

“Rick! No!” Daryl called, rushing up and helping Sen grab the lanky guy by the arms, “Stop!”

Two sets of arms and hands finally managed to grab onto Rick, pulling and tugging him off of Tyreese.

“LET GO OF ME!” Rick barked, his voice transformed, practically foreign to them all, “LET GO OF ME!”

“No! Stop!” Daryl growled, the three of them struggling for control as he and Sen pried the leader off of his beaten victim. Tyreese didn't move a muscle. He just laid there, slightly curled inwards as he cradled his bloodied fist. He quietly whimpered to himself, breaking down into a full on sob. The pain was unbearable—not because of the fight with his leader, but rather the more permenant, heartbreaking fact that he now had to live with. Karen was gone. She was dead. Burned to nothing.

 


	46. Isolation pt. II / Indifference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe the person was trying to stop it,” She said suddenly, making the man stop and turn to face her, “You know, before it spread to anyone else?...Maybe they were trying to protect the group.”
> 
> Sen stared at her blankly, his eyes growing unusually dark.
> 
> “Well...They didn't,” He remarked simply, turning away to head back to the cell block, “I'll see you later, Carol.”
> 
> “...See ya,” He heard her mutter quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, babies. Here's a nice big update for you all. Enjoy! xx

Captain America could only provide so much comfort. No matter how many comics he read, he still couldn't get the image out of his memory. Rick, the man usually so calm and rational, just losing it and becoming a manic, violent animal like that. The way his eyes burned and his body shook with pure anger. He just kept hitting Tyreese over and over again, Carol's screams and Daryl's yells doing nothing. He just completely shut down...

[Sen](http://www.polyvore.com/sen/set?id=116069048&lid=3151632) listened to the hard cough coming from the other side of the glass. He looked up from his book, and over to the skinny girl currently wrapped in a blanket with a bottle of water. She stared back at him, wiping her nose and sniffling before opening up her bottle.

“So then what happened?” [Kei](http://www.polyvore.com/kai/set?id=113977103&lid=3151632) asked, taking a huge gulp of water.

“So I stitched up his face, and he went on his merry way,” He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair, “He's out burying Karen and David right now. By himself.”

The girl's dark eyes fell to the floor,

“Poor guy.”

The young nurse let out a small “hm.” in agreement, nodding his head as he flipped through the pages of his comic. He closed it shut and looked over at her, giving her a half-cocked smile before it faded.

“You don't remember anything from last night?” He asked her. The girl shook her head and closed her water bottle.

“Just what I told you and Daryl when I woke up,” She remarked, her eyebrows furrowing slowly in thought, “...Why...Why do you think they spared me?”

“Kei,” Her friend sighed.

“I mean it,” She said firmly, “If they were trying to stop the disease, why only kill Karen and David, but leave me?”

“Maybe because they knew Daryl Dixon would burn this whole place down,” He remarked thoughtfully, earning a small scoff from the girl, “I can only imagine how he'd be if he lost you...”

The dark haired girl gave him a half-hearted smile as she nodded, her eyes falling to her bony hands.

“Well!” He chirped out, sliding out of his seat, “Not that this isn't the  _most fun_ I've  _ever_  had in my life, but you, dearest, need your beauty rest. We need you better, and fast. It's only been a day and Daryl's as beside himself as the wolves are.”

“Aw, don't tell me that,” She whimpered, “I miss them.”

“Well then get better, dumbass,” Sen chirped, smirking at the little smile that flashed across her face, “I'll visit you later on, okay?”

“Is there ever a time when you see the glass half empty?” Kei asked, looking up at her best friend as he thought about it. He jutted his lip out and shrugged, smirking that crooked smirk of his.

“Never,” He remarked simply, “Get some sleep.”

He kissed his hand and casually placed it on the glass, Kei kissing her own and placing it over his. She nodded lightly and watched as he broke away, walking into the darkness and disappearing behind the corner. Once he was out of sight, the girl's smile instantly fell.

“...You suck at listening,” She spoke out, her eyes flicking over to the darkened corner at the end of the witness room.

A minute or so ticked by before Daryl slowly stepped out, his thumb to his mouth as he anxiously chewed on the nail.

“So do you,” He remarked as he stalked forward, “Wanted to make sure you were okay...”

He pulled up the chair and sat right up to the window, his nose only a few inches from pressing up against the glass. He watched as she let out a few hard coughs before wrapping her blanket tighter around herself. The sight made him impulsively bring his thumb up to his mouth again, chewing on the nail before Kei's expression forced himself to stop.

“Just wanted to tell ya, I'm goin' on a run,” He admitted, “Michonne and I...Bob too, maybe Tyreese...”

He watched as worry quickly washed over her expression.

“Y... Are you sure you want to be stuck in a car with him?” She asked, grabbing her water bottle and taking a quick swig. The hunter nodded with a throaty “hm”, his jaw bobbing as he watched her quickly set the bottle down. She wiped her mouth and struggled to keep the cough that tickled her throat. She kept her hand over her mouth as she let it go, the harsh sound vibrating in her throat.

“We're goin' to some vet college 50 miles out, find some meds for ya,” He explained, “...We'll have 'em early as tomorrow.”

50 miles. Tomorrow. As early as tomorrow. It was all vaguely reassuring to the girl. Anything could happen on the road, especially going that far out. They could run into a horde of walkers, plunderers, The Governor...God knows where he was lurking about. Anything could happen out there, and that made the girl's heart practically sink to her stomach.

“I said I'd make ya better, and I will,” He remarked, as if reading her mind and knowing exactly what was on it. The girl looked up at him, sniffling lightly before struggling a small smile and a nod.

“I know,” She remarked honestly. She wiped her nose on her blanket and sniffled some more before letting out a cough. Daryl watched her the whole time, finally letting out a sigh of defeat before leaning forward, pressing his forehead against the glass. He shut his eyes for a moment and breifly pictured himself slipping through the glass, Kei's shocked expression turning into a bright smile as he walked right through and hugged her tight. That's all he wanted to do right now. That, and...

He opened his eyes again, staring down at the dirty concrete that his muddy boots rested on.

“...Wish I could kiss ya,” He muttered, chewing on his lip as he slowly lifted his head. His girl was looking at him, a heartbroken expression etched on her face. Daryl twisted his lips and tried to flash a small smile, putting his hand up on the glass and patting it a little.

“When yer better,” He finished.

“When I'm better,” She promised hoarsly, lifting her hand and placing it on his, “Then you can kiss me as much as you want.”

  
  


“ _Kirakira hikaru, osora no hoshi o,”_ Sen sang quietly, shaking his head as he remembered to sing in english, _“Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, Twinkle little star...”_

Silence. The young adult shifted on the concrete floor and turned, pressing his hear against the wooden door. A small smile stretched across his face when he didn't hear anything.

“Is she asleep?” He asked in a whisper.

“...Yeah, finally,” He heard Beth whisper back from the other side, “Thanks so much for doing this, Sen. I think she just wanted to hear a new voice.”

“It's not a problem,” He replied, smiling at the thought of little Judy fast asleep, “I'm happy to help...”

Just then he heard a series of hard coughs coming from down the hall. He turned and looked forward, watching Glenn as he staggered past, looking pale and clammy as he brought his hand to his mouth. He coughed a few more times before disappearing behind the corner, heading straight for Cellblock A.

The young nurse quickly got up and said a fast goodbye to Beth before rushing down the hall, turning the corner. He stopped and watched as Glenn stepped inside, Carol already at the door with a bandanna covering her mouth and nose. She gently patted his back and assured him that it would be okay, the young man nodding and muttering to her about something before entering the cellblock for good. She carefully closed the door behind him and peered through the glass for a few seconds before turning around, stopping when she saw Sen before her.

“Everything okay?” He asked her, his eyes pointing to the door behind her. The woman nodded lightly, pulling her bandanna down to speak more clearly.

“Yeah, yeah...everything's fine,” She remarked, turning her head slightly towards the door, “Glenn's in there...he told me to look after Maggie...”

The young man nodded, his eyes flicking to the concrete floor for a second. Everyone was getting separated from each other.

“I'm sorry about Kei,” Carol chirped, her soft voice bringing the guy back from his thoughts, “Did she say anything else about what happened?”

“Nothing, the same story,” He spoke, his tone slightly bitter, “Some asshole knocked her out and dragged her to the showers.”

The woman nodded in understanding.

“Poor girl,” She replied, “I'm glad she's alright...for the most part.”

Her light eyes slowly dropped to the floor for a second, “...I don't know what we would've done if we lost her too.”

Sen nodded lightly as the two of them fell silent, a slight awkwardness starting to swell in the air. The young man's dark eyes watched with subtle curiosity as Carol shifted in place. She seemed tense around him, almost cautious of him even. He furrowed slightly before mentally shrugging and letting it go. He had other things to take care of besides speculate. He gave the woman a small nod and stepped away to head back into the cellblock. He had only made it a few steps before he heard Carol's voice call out.

“Maybe the person was trying to stop it,” She said suddenly, making the man stop and turn to face her, “You know, before it spread to anyone else?...Maybe they were trying to protect the group.”

Sen stared at her blankly, his eyes growing unusually dark.

“Well...They didn't,” He remarked simply, turning away to head back to the cellblock, “I'll see you later, Carol.”

“...See ya,” He heard her mutter quietly.

Something was wrong. The way she looked at him. How tense she was. The way she shifted. Something was wrong with her. She knew something. Something wasn't right.

  
  


“ _Banbi-chaaan!” They chirped in unison, knocking on his door like their lives depended on it, “Banbi! Wake up!”_

_Sen hated those girls in the morning. They'd break into his room and occupy his bathroom and spend hours doing hair and stealing his make up and taking selfies in the mirror. His was currently the only bathroom on the whole floor with those eco-friendly, bright white lights already installed._

“ _Can I borrow a wig today, Banbi-chan?” Mayaya would ask him in her bubbly-sweet voice, “Something bleach blonde! I wanna look like Paris Hilton!”_

_Except Paris was never painted as drastically brown and white as they were._

_Still, Sen obliged and said they could borrow what they needed. Makeup, wigs, accessories, whatever. After they were done, the 23 year old actually managed to squeeze in some time to work on himself._

_Three modern day princesses walked down the main street like it was their own. They laughed, they shopped, they enjoyed life and what they made of it. Shopping in stores, occupying cafes while chatting and snapping pictures of adorable desserts, stopping at every purikura imaginable to take adorable photobooth strips._

“ _Chieko-sama!” Mayaya would chirp as she stared down at the photos, “How is it that you always look better than us?! It's not fair!”_

_Yoko would always playfully whine in agreement.[Chieko](http://www.polyvore.com/chieko/set?id=116248992) was born to look her very best. She was a perfectionist. Sen wouldn't have it any other way. After all, they were the same person._

“Mayaya honey, you have nothing to worry about!” He would say in the most posh, feminine voice, “You look gorgeous. Top notch, even.”

 _Hearing it from Chieko's shiny lips seemed to brighten their spirits. Their eyes sparkled with a certain dreamy hope as their voices gradually raised with the typical girlish noise of praise and happiness. Chieko smiled brightly at them before her attention immediately went over to the_[girl](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=116484050)  _who just stepped out of the hole-in-the-wall market only several feet away. She wore a simple floral skirt over her pale blue and white flannel, the sheer fabric doing little to hide the familiar dragon tattoo that rested on her back. She topped off her look with round black sunnies, a large grey hat, and a pair of saint laurent patent leather pumps. The ones_ he _got her for christmas._

_Chieko watched as the girl pulled out a cigarette already half-gone and put it to her lips. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a small lighter covered in plastic jems and stickers, flicking it on and relighting her smoke. The lighter. The shoes. And the tattoo. Yep. It was her._

_Chieko rushed forward and practically tackled the girl, wrapping her slender arms around her best friend's bony frame._

“ _Keiko, darling!” She chirped out, “You never answered my calls last night! You missed the most amazing party. Tons of cute guys you could have chosen from.”_

“ _Hi Sen,” Keiko chuckled, quickly exhaling a think cloud of smoke._

“ _Ah, ah, ah,_ Chieko _,” The stylish one corrected, giving her a small wink before looking down, “What's in the bag?”_

_The lanky girl held it up to her, a growing smile on her face._

“ _Hot pot supplies,” She answered, giggling as Chieko's eyes practically lit up with stars, “I beat the manager in a match last week. As payment, he gave me matsusaka beef for tonight.”_

“ _Ah! Keiko-chan, you're amazing!!” Chieko cheered, grabbing her best friend and hugging her tight between her padded breasts, “I'll have to bring a good wine and my fancy plates tonight. We'll invite the crew over!”_

_Keiko let out a giggle and wriggled out her best friend's grasp, taking a step back to straighten out her shirt._

“ _I wanted to ask you something also,” She spoke, taking the cigarette out of her mouth, “Do―”_

“ _But of course! Today's look is '_ american-farm-girl-in-the-big-city' _,” Chieko remarked, striking a small pose that made Mayaya and Yoko swoon in the background._

“ _No, not that,” Kei chuckled, flicking her cigarette to the ground and smothering it with her shoe, “I was going to ask if you wanted this.”_

_She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a little blue cell phone charm, a tiny plastic cat character dangling on the end. Chieko's bright blue eyes stared it for a minute, memories suddenly washing over her like a flood. The little robotic cat smiling happily at her from the end of that little charm...it was..._

“ _Remember Doraemon?” Kei asked him, smiling brightly._

Sen snapped open his eyes, blinking a few times before rubbing them with one hand. He slowly shifted on his side and looked over at his other hand, the small Doraemon charm dangling off his fingers. Doraemon was a childhood favorite of his. When he had just turned 13, Kei had first come to Japan for training, and she harassed him for liking it so much. When they first sparred, Sen got so furious with her, he managed to cut her right on the shoulder, managing to get her collarbone in the process. Some time after that, they managed to somehow become friends, and Kei found out that Doraemon wasn't such a bad show after all.

He missed that show. He missed everything about his old life. He missed his old apartment, the girls Mayaya and Yoko, Hot Pot meals with the whole floor. He missed all the noise, the nights out with friends, the city, the dressing up. He missed it all.

But most of all, right now, he missed Kei.

He just wished he could sit next to her again and talk about something, anything.

She always mellowed him out whenever he got too anxious or excited. Right now he was more anxious than ever. She was sick. She had what the others in A-Block had, and there was a chance she wouldn't make it through the night. That thought alone made his heart ache and race at the same time. She could die. She could die and leave him here alone forever. Nothing would ever be the same without her. He would be officially alone and she would be gone and he would slowly go crazy until some walker bit him or until he just decided he couldn't go on anymore. He just couldn't picture life without her. He couldn't when they were apart before, and he still couldn't now.

He turned and buried his face into his pillow, straining a small whimper in his throat. He had to calm down. He couldn't think about that right now. He needed to think positive. Positive thoughts. Good vibes. Everything was going to work out. It always did. Daryl and the others would come back with the medicine, and everything would work out. She would pull through. And if she didn't...well...He would just have to keep moving forward. No matter how much it hurt. He still had others to look out for. He had Carl, and Judith, and most importantly...

“Sen,” A voice spoke, suddenly making the young man jolt and whip around. Sen sat straight up in bed with a wide eyed look on his face, Rick staring at him confusingly from the doorway. The young nurse shut his eyes and let out a hard sigh.

“Jesus,” He hissed, falling back into his pillows as he put his hands to his face, “You scared the shit out of me, man.”

“Sorry,” Rick spoke, a faint chuckle in his voice before it faded, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just...” Sen rubbed his eyes and looked back up at the ceiling, “...Just thinking.”

The leader nodded lightly, folding his arms as he took a single step inside.

“She's gonna be okay,” He assured him, “We'll pull through this thing.”

For some reason, hearing it from him always made the weight on Sen's chest feel a little lighter. It was still there, sure, but it felt...lighter.

“...Yeah,” The lanky man sighed, shifting his head to look over at him, “So where were you this whole time?”

The leader shifted as he looked down at his boots for a minute.

“Out in the courtyard,” He answered, tossing his uninjured hand in the tombs' direction, “Looking over the spot where Karen and David were this morning...”

“Find anything?” The young nurse inquired, his eyebrows furrowing as Rick remained silent, “...Rick?”

No answer. The leader remained hesitant, staring down at the floor before finally looking over at the man on the bed. He was holding something back. An answer.

“Rick,” Sen said quickly as he sat up, his dark eyes wide, “You know who did this?!”

“Shhh,” Rick hissed, stepping back as Sen hopped off the bed and stood only a foot or so from him,

“Who?!” He whispered sharply, lowering his voice even more, “Who...”

The leader kept his eyes on the floor.

“I'm not sure,” He answered with a shake of his head, “I―I gotta see, first.”

“Bullshit!” Sen hissed under his breath, “Who did it?! Was it someone from C-block?”

“Sen,” Rick warned slowly, “I gotta talk to this person, first. Really. I got―I wanna know why.”

The young nurse looked at the leader with firm eyes, his lips twisting to the side in obvious frustration. He let out a harsh sigh through his nose before shaking his head lightly, rolling his eyes immediately after.

“Fine,” He caved, “Do what you need to do.”

“I promise, I'll tell you once I figure things out,” He assured. The young man just scoffed through his nose and shook his head.

“Whatever,” He muttered. He heard Rick let out a disheartening sigh, the leader placing his hand on his hips as he chewed on his lip in breif thought.

“...I'm going on a run,” He announced slowly, earning no response from the man across from him, “...I'm takin Carol with me.”

“And you need me here,” Sen quoted, his tone of voice hinting irritation. Rick simply nodded, his lips twisting to the side as he placed his good hand on Sen's shoulder, patting it in reassurance. Sen tried to his hardest to keep his annoyed look, but failed as Rick's hand casually placed itself on the back of his neck, the faint smile on the leader's face seeming to make all his bitterness melt away just like that. The young nursed smiled back faintly and leaned in, breifly touching foreheads before he shifted to look down at the leader's injured hand. He carefully took it and lifted it, observing the bandages that were starting to stain a light shade of pink at the knuckles area.

“Does it hurt still?” He asked, genuine concern in his voice.

The lanky man looked down at his bandaged hand, his lips pursing for a second as he nodded lightly,

“Stings a little...”

Sen gently ran his thumb over his bandaged knuckles, watching how the muscles in his hand slightly twitched. The tip of his index finger slowly ran down the leader's ring finger, grazing over the plain wedding ring that still rested on it.

“What happened to you back there?” He asked suddenly, his dark eyes flicking up and looking at the leader. Rick's light blues slowly dipped down along with his head, the sherriff pursing his lips as Sen took another step closer to him.

“Rick, look at me,” He demanded, earning eye contact from the leader, “What on earth happened to you back there? With Tyreese? You just completely shut down. I've never seen you go off like tha-”

“I don't know,” Rick answered quickly, still avoiding eye contact as his voice lowered, “I don't know...”

There was a long pause as he dipped his head in shame, slowly lifting it and looking over at the man across from him. He knew that look all too well. Hershel had been giving it to him ever since Lori died: A light frown, eyes filled with concern. There was something else there behind Sen's eyes though. He couldn't place what it was, but he could only assume the worst.

“...You scared of me now?” He asked. He'd understand if he was. Lori was when she found out he killed Shane. Glenn was when he found him in the tombs after Lori's death. He'd understand completely.

Sen stared at him, his lips twisted to the side for a brief second. He stared the man dead in the eye as he shook his head, letting out a firm “No.”

Hearing that made the leader's heart pang against his rib cage, a sickly feeling starting grow in the pit of his stomach. 

"Really?"

"Really," He answered, a faint smirk flashing across his lips, "I've seen scarier. Kei without her flat iron is way scarier." 

The leader's head tilted only slightly, watching as the young nurse's lips slowly twisted to the side, his brows knitting in the process. He looked hesitant. The expression made the leader's heart thump a little harder in his chest.

He slowly stretched his aching fingers, curling them over Sen's hand and holding it as best as he could. The gesture made Sen's dark eyes flick up and face his, him staring intently and furrowing slightly. He watched closely as the leader shifted slightly. If he didn't know any better, it was like some magnetic force was slowly pushing or pulling the leader towards the young Nurse's face.

Each inch made the sickly feeling in his stomach worse. He didn't know whether to lean back or lean in. His mind started racing, a slew of thoughts piling on and mixing together, leaving him utterly speechless and confused and frozen in place. He just sat there and furrowed as Rick leaned in closer and closer, not even so much as twitching as Rick's pointed nose gently brushed up against his own. His muscles grew tenser than ever, turning him into a living statue as Rick's lips barely grazed against his upper lip, placing the lightest kiss there.

Sen immediately felt himself crumbling. He felt lightheaded, like he was going to vomit. There was no way this was happening. This was hell. This was a joke. It was torture. It was...

Another kiss, this time on the corner of his mouth. Sen forced his jaw to move, attempting to talk Rick into stopping for a second. Their lips ended up touching over and over again with each word he spoke, eliciting a small sigh from the leader as he attempted to shift and kiss him square on the mouth.

“Rick,” Sen spoke, immediately cut off by another kiss. This time his lips intentionally kissed back, his brain trying to juggle the task of talking and kissing at the same time. “Ri—Rick, stop. Stop.”

He gently nudged the leader back a little, stopping what they were doing and earning a slightly confused look from the man across from him. The young nurse quickly ran a shaking hand through his hair,

“Okay I...I need to...Uh....” He stammered over his words, mentally slapping himself as he tried to keep it together, “We need to talk about—Wha....We...Okay, first, what the hell was that?”

He looked over to the leader, his face blank and his expression hard to read.

“Rick, what was that?” He repeated, his voice much less shaky and more firm, “...I mean...I thought you were, like, hung up on your wife or whatever.”

He mentally slapped himself again, rushing to try and find words, “No, sorry, that came out wrong. Fuck...I mean, I thought you were straight. Very straight.”

He watched as Rick's entire demeanor changed. His eyes flitted shut and he lifted his good hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath and let it out.

“...I am,” He rasped, "I have a wife..." 

There was a long pause between them as Sen tried to process what he had just said to him.

“...Wait, what?!” He let out, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes at the same time, "I'm lost here, what are y-" 

“Look, I'm sorry I—I don't..." He paused for a minute, pinching the bridge of his nose again as the headache in his skull grew.

"...I don't know what came over me,” He admitted, embarrassment and defensiveness clearly radiating off of him. He ran his good hand through his hair and took a deep breath, shakily letting it out  as he tried to collect his racing thoughts.

“Just...” He mumbled, shaking his head and immediately turning away, “Just forget I ever came in here. This never happened.”

Sen reached out for the leader's good hand and took it.

“Wait, Ri—” He paused as the leader jerked it away, continuing forward and exiting the cell, “Rick! Wai-”

“Just forget it!” He barked harshly, his voice making Sen flinch as he disappeared behind the corner.

  
  


Sleeping felt nice. It was calming, relaxing. Her throat wasn't bothering her at all. She didn't feel too hot or too cold either. She actually felt...nice, finally able to rest easily.

“Pssst!” She heard a voice whisper harshly through the dark.

She felt herself twitch a little, a hand resting itself on her bony shoulder. It gripped down gently and started shaking her back and forth.

“Pssst!” The voice let out again, this time much louder, “Keiko chan! Wake up!”

She woke up with a start, opening her eyes wide to look at a pair of shocking blue irises. Sen's smiling face looked down at her, his glossy lips forming a pretty grin.

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” He chirped in his posh voice, “You're missing the hot pot!”

“Yeah, Keiko! I brought your favorite!” Another feminine voice chirped. Kei's eyes slowly looked over to the young girl with long wavy curls and big dolly eyes. [Airi](http://www.polyvore.com/alex_airi/set?id=116210229). She sat next to a lanky boy with a round face and an almost permanent smirk. Alex.

She blinked a few times. Their faces never changing, their bodies permanently in place. They didn't deteriorate. They didn't melt or disappear. They stayed seated on the floor, all at their respective spots at the table, staring down at her as she laid flat on the floor, half her body under the table.

The person above her, staring down at her with that classic smirk. Sen...

No wait. He was in women's [clothing](http://www.polyvore.com/chieko_hot_pot_party/set?id=116251754) today. Chieko.

The stylish girl gently nudged her best friend to sit up, letting out a whine of pretend frustration.

“Aye, come on, lazy bum! We're doing this for you!” She chirped, grabbing her bowl and chopsticks, “Airi already started cooking the beef, so hurry up before it's gone!”

The dark haired girl watched as the others put their hands together and in unison let out a cheery “itadakimasu!”. Not a second after, they started digging in. She didn't say a word. She just kept blinking, trying to wake herself up. This couldn't be real, it couldn't...but man, was it vivid. She could feel everything: the scratchiness of the carpet, the warmth of the blanket covering her legs. She could smell the warm stewed vegetables and cooked meat all bubbling in the hot pot. Airi's laugh, Alex's body language...it all seemed so real.

She slowly lifted herself up, her eyes falling to the table that was covered with every Hot Pot ingredient imaginable. A large bowl of rice sat in front of her, steaming hot and fresh. She stared it while Airi and Alex just kept eating and talking, Chieko laughing at every joke and funny story. No one to seemed to notice her slowly picking at her meal. She picked up a few clumps of rice and put it to her mouth. Her eyes widened. It tasted like rice. She slowly went for the Hot Pot and started grabbing slices of beef. It tasted like meat. Better than meat. It was heaven. Cooked cabbage. Tofu. Mushrooms. Even the shirataki noodles. It all had a taste. And it was good!

“Mmmm!” Chieko let out, gently resting a hand on her cheek as she smiled in utter delight, “It's so delicious! You definitely need to beat the shop owner in  _kyudo_  more, Keiko-chan.”

“I'll try,” She muttered, giggling lightly as she picked up another slice of beef, “I'd forgotten how good this tastes...”

“I say we do drinks and Kareoke tonight,” Chieko chirped, turning towards Kei and grinning, “A fun way to top this all off, yeah?”

“Yeah!” Airi and Alex cheered, the two of them quickly springing up off the floor and grabbing their shoes. Chieko and Kei slowly got up as well, stretching their arms and limbs. Kei quietly shuffled over to the corner and slipped on her [boots](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=117157936), her heart thumping in her chest. She missed these shoes. They were the ones Sen got her for her birthday.

“You're awfully quiet tonight,” Chieko said suddenly, tilting her head as she observed Kei's upset expression, “What's wrong,  _hani_?”

Honey. She hadn't heard him call her that in a long time. Hearing it now just made it worse. She blinked harder this time, rubbing her eyes and mentally screaming for herself to wake up. She needed to wake up.

“N...Nothing,” She muttered with a shake of her head, “I'm just a little tired...”

She looked over and saw that her best friend wasn't having it. Chieko quirked an eyebrow at her, her lips twisting two the side as she let out a small noise of disbelief.

“You're full of shit,” She said with a fond smirk, gently jerking her head in the hallway's direction, “Go grab your bag, mopey.  _I'm_ buying the drinks tonight. You can tell me all about it at the bar.”

The dark haired girl quirked a small smile at her friend and nodded, quietly walking over to her hallway closet. She couldn't believe she still remembered where everything was in her old apartment. She knelt down and slowly opened the closet door, reaching in and grabbing the first thing that remotely felt like a bag. She pulled it out and looked down at it, the small smile on her face instantly dropping.

The rucksack was worn with dirt, the fabirc now discolored from sun damage and thinning from overuse. The whole thing was riddled with holes and frayed edges and barely useable pockets. A name was scribbled on the flap that rested on top, the words lazily written in permanent marker.

**DIXON.**

Her stomach immediately dropped and her eyes went wide.

“Keiko-chan! Hurry up!”

Kei turned around sharply, watching Airi, Alex, and Sen all stumbling down the city street and laughing their heads off. Sen had exchanged his vibrant gyaru clothes for a more [vibrant young nightlife](http://www.polyvore.com/chieko/set?id=116245291#fans) look; a neon pink wig, lace halter top, a fitted sailor moon skirt, and thick black wedges to top it off. A burning joint dangled out of his mouth and he took a hearty drag, lifting his head and letting it out into the night air. Airi and Alex lifted their heads as well and began howling like wolves. Kei's heart banged in her chest as she stepped forward.

“Guys...” She muttered, her voice barely audible over their howls. She stepped up to Sen and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face her. He smiled brightly and handed her the joint, exhaling slowly as she took it and put it to her lips. She took a long hit and watched as her best friend grinned and lifted his head, turning around and howling along with the other two. The three of them continued down the street, leaving Kei there to smoke and watch.

She took another hit before kneeling down, smothering the roach into the pavement and exhaling slowly.

She stood back up and smoothed out her shirt before looking ahead, a walker suddenly standing  _right_  in front of her with it's jaw hanging off of it's neck. The creature shot forward and lunged for her, latching onto her shoulder and sinking its teeth into her skin. She instantly let out a scream, opening her eyes and sitting straight up in bed.

She looked to her left and jumped at the sight of someone sitting over by the wall of her cell. Hershel was there, watching her with somber eyes and a silver thermos in his hand. She slowly brought a shaking hand to her forehead and wiped off all the sweat, shutting her eyes as her stomach growled and ached.

“Fever dreams are the worst,” She heard the old farmer say, “You alright?”

“You shouldn't be in here,” She groaned, grabbing her blanket and using it to wipe down her sweaty neck and arms.

“Someone has to,” He replied thoughtfully, holding out the thermos top, “I brought you some tea. It'll help with the fever.”

She looked over and slowly reached out, taking the thermos mug with a small and groggy 'thank you.' She took a small sip and struggled to swallow it down her aching throat.

“Is Glenn alright?” She asked after taking a few more sips. Hershel nodded lightly, his eyes falling to the concrete floor.

“He's holding on,” He answered, his light eyes looking back at her, “How're you?”

“...Holding on,” She remarked, coughing a few times before wiping her mouth. She looked up out at the cell window, the sky tinted a faint orange, “How long have I been out?”

“Since yesterday,” He answered softly, his eyes briefly falling to his shoes.

“They're not back yet,” She remarked, recalling Daryl's words on how they would be back by the morning.

“There's still plenty of time,” He assured her, giving her a soft smile, “They'll pull through. They always do.”

The young girl shut her eyes and nodded, struggling to hold onto that. She had to trust Daryl and the others. They would come back.

“...I had a dream about my old life,” She suddenly confessed. The old farmer looked to her, nodding lightly before cracking a soft smile.

“Was it really that terrifying?” He asked, smiling softly at the little joke he made. Kei smiled softly as well, taking another small sip before continuing on.

“It was nice,” She admitted, “At least, the parts with my friends were...I saw Daryl's bag in my closet.”

The old farmer nodded, watching the girl's grip on the cup grow tight.

“Was Daryl there?” He asked softly.

She shook her head.

“No,” She replied, slowly turning her head to look at him, “But I wanted him to be. I wished he was...”

Her pale lips curled inwards as she looked away and back down at her tea. She tried her hardest to hold back the small bit of tears that were starting to sting her eyes.

“Hershel,” She let out shakily, staring down at her mug with intensity, “I need...I need you tell Daryl something if I do―”

“Don't you start talking like that,” He interrupted firmly.

“I'm serious!” She let out, staring over at him intently as she held in another cough, “This right here, this is real. Something could really happen to me, and I might not get to come back from it.”

Silence. Hershel just stared over at the girl, tight lipped as his heart started to slowly sink in his chest. He watched as she gripped her mug of tea tight and took a small sip, turning away to look down at her blankets.

“...If I don't make it past tonight, I need you to tell Daryl some things,” She continued, “Tell him, that I love him, and that no matter what, he can't go back to who he was. Tell him to lean on others, Carol, Rick, anyone...”

She saw Hershel's head fall for a second before he nodded lightly, lifting it back up to look at her.

“Don't let him be alone,” She pressed, “He can't make it alone.”

The man remained silent, watching with solemn eyes the sick girl sniffled and wiped her nose. He took in a much needed breath and let it out in a somber sigh through his nose.

“...He'll be back soon,” He assured her, “Now go on and drink that. Doctor's orders, young lady.”

The girl put the cup back to her lips, taking a hearty gulp and forcing it past all the pain she felt in her throat. She handed the mug back to Hershel and laid back down, allowing the old man to check her pulse and temperature before leaving. She shut her eyes once more and tried relaxing her aching body, sending herself back home to find her hunter in the bustling Shinjuku crowd.

  
  


He couldn't believe it.

They had lost a whole night. They had lost their car and ran for hours on end from hordes upon hordes of walkers.

He didn't just risk his life and come all this way for a bottle.

They came for medicine. And that's what he fully expected to see stocked in Bob's bag.

But no, there was no meds, not even so much as a couple of pills.

Just a bottle of cheap liquor.

Daryl stared down at the bottle bitterly, his face scrunching up in growing anger as he shot a look over at Bob. The lanky man stared at the bottle and at the hunter, his eyes wide with high tension and alertness. He was waiting to see what he would do.

“Ya got no meds in yer bag?” The hunter growled, holding up the bottle to Bob's face, “Just this?”

The doctor didn't say a word. Instead, his eyes followed the bottle, watching it intently before looking back at Daryl. Livid wouldn't even begin to describe the look on his face. The hunter leaned forward, staring at Bob with growing anger and mistrust.

“Ya shoulda kept walkin' that day,” He rasped bitterly, referring back to only a few weeks ago when they had first found him. The man watched as Daryl turned around and threw an arm back, just about ready to chuck the bottle out of anyone's reach. Panic immediately settled in for the doctor, and his hand instinctively went to his to holster.

“Don't!” He warned, stopping Daryl just short of tossing it. The hunter turned towards him, his eyes falling to where the doctor's hand was. Right on the handle of his gun.

His face went blank as a slate for a minute before pure animalistic anger took it's place. He stomped forward, Bob standing firmly in place as the hunter came up and knocked foreheads with his own. The doctor stumbled back and recoiled a little as Daryl crushed his body with is own, leaning in and giving the guy the darkest and most foul of stares. He was like an alpha in this moment, butting his head against Bob's. The doctor kept his eyes glued to the concrete, remaining frozen and submissive as Daryl's jaw bobbed and his hand reached for his holster.

The hunter stared at him the entire time, even has he swiftly grabbed the doctor's gun, bitter raging hell-fire in his narrow eyes. The doctor could hear his breathing, heavy and ragged through his nose as he leaned forward and dug his dirty forehead into the doctor's own. Daryl leaned forward, pushing the doctor back a few steps with just the sheer force of his forehead, wordlessly challenging the meek man to try something. He then grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him forward, staring daggers at Bob as he looked away in pure shame.

“Just let it go, Daryl!” Tyreese spoke out, “The man's made his choice. Nothin' you can do about it, just gotta let it go...”

Daryl instantly let go and took a step back, his body still shaking with anger.

“I didn't wanna hurt nobody,” Bob admitted, his voice shaking and cracking, “It was just for when it gets quiet...”

Daryl continued to stare at the doctor bitterly, taking a step forward and slamming the bottle into the man's chest. He held it there firmly as he leaned forward, getting into the man's face once more.

“Ya take one sip,” He rasped, “'fore those meds get into our people...”

Bob continued to stare at the ground in shame, Daryl's face only an inch or so away from his own.

“...I will  _beat_  your ass into the ground,” He growled lowly, giving the man a small shove, “ _You hear me?_ ”

The doctor stood frozen, not moving a muscle except to hold the bottle Daryl had firmly shoved into his arms. The hunter stalked away with his gun, shoving it into the back of his jeans before grabbing the rest of the bags that  _were_  full of what they had actually come for. After the others were a good couple of feet ahead, the doctor finally moved forward, shoving the bottle back into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: i haven't written a m/m scene in 9ever. like straight up, not since middle school. So i apologize if it's like, idk, blehk! ahaha. but yeah, I tried to make it confusing and awkward, so mission accomplished i think??? o_o
> 
> well regardless, I hope everyone's having a wonderful day today.  
> oh and p.s. did you SEE THAT SEASON FINALE THO. Bravo to the Walking Dead writers! I think it was their best Season finale yet. I can't wait for 5, it's going to be raw as hell.  
> Well, that's all! Ciao, cuties! xx


	47. Too Far Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kei! Oh God, she's choking! Hurry!” A woman cried, “Quick! Help me get her up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, lil babies. This summer's been...odd lol.   
> I just got back from Las Vegas a few days ago. it was my first time there, I had fun! Highly recommend.   
> I hope everyone's having a good summer! - xx
> 
> P.S.: 3 more months until season 5, yeeeee!!! <3

“This cluster's gettin' bad,” Maggie spoke, grunting as she shoved her tire iron through the fence, “It's worse than the one that nearly brought down the fences the other day.”

Sen shoved his staff through the holes in the fence, piercing walkers in their skulls and eyesockets. The two of them had spent the morning together, talking and walking along the fence-line, picking away at the horde that just kept piling up.

“We'll have to set up some form of support to reinforce the fence-line,” He sighed, shoving his staff through a male walker's mouth, “We could probably use some more of those wooden poles to...”

He trailed off for a second, peering through the fence as a bright green Hyundai started speeding down the road. It was headed towards the first gate, and faint smile flashed across the young man's face. Rick and Carol made it back.

“Heads up!” He chirped, setting his staff down and rushing down the gravel path. Maggie quickly followed after him, stopping pulling at the rope that opened up the steel doors while Sen rushed over and pushed open the fence gate. The hyundai rolled through with ease and the two prison members quickly secured the gates shut. The car stopped only a few feet ahead before Rick stepped out in a hurry.

“Carl! Judith! Are they okay?” He asked out.

“Yeah!” Maggie answered.

“Where's Carol?” Sen asked, furrowing over at the empty passenger seat.

“Glenn, Hershel, Sasha,” Rick spoke, ignoring Sen's question as Maggie nodded with a worried expression.

“Yeah, it's bad but they're fightin' it,” She answered quickly, watching as Rick turned on his heel and started rushing towards the car, “Daryl's not back yet―Rick!”

“Rick where's Carol?!” Sen repeated, his voice heightened with desperation. The leader stopped in his tracks for a moment before slowly turning around. He firmly walked right back up to them,

“It was her,” He confessed, “She killed Karen and David.”

The news hit the two of them like a ton of bricks. Maggie took a small step back, her eyes falling to the dirt as she tried to process what Rick had just said. Sen's brows furrowed and his eyes widened in confusion. Carol killed them? Carol, the more nurturing one of the group, was the one who knocked out Kei and slaughtered two of their own in cold blood? He couldn't picture it...

“She was trying to stop it from spreadin',” Rick explained, “Tyreese is going to be back here soon, so I didn't think she could be here.”

Maggie's breathing was growing heavier and heavier by the second. Sen stepped beside her and rubbed her back, trying to keep her calm as Rick looked at the both of them.

“ _I_ couldn't have her here,” He emphasized, looking at Maggie firmly as shock started to overcome her face, “She has a car, supplies, she'll figure it out. I'll tell you dad, we don't tell anyone else yet.”

“...Okay,” She breathed. Rick watched as she took a few deep breaths, the information proving to be a lot for the farmer's daughter.

“Would you have done it?” He asked her, looking over to Sen as well, “Either of you?”

Sen remained silent as Maggie pursed her lips.

“...She said she did it?” She asked.

“Yeah,” The leader spoke with a nod. Maggie nodded lightly, her eyes still glued to the dirt as she tried to keep it together. She took a deep breath and looked back up at her leader, her eyes firm.

“...Then you were right to send her away,” She asserted, “...I don't know if I could've.”

“You could've, Maggie, You've done a lot worse,” Rick assured her, “Don't doubt yourself. We don't get to, these days.”

Sen watched as Rick turned back around and headed for the car. He immediately sprung into action and rushed up to the passenger’s side as Maggie called out to Rick. As they talked for another minute or so, Sen opened up the car door and slid inside, taking a seat. Soon after, Rick entered the car and took a seat on the driver's side. He put his hands on the wheel, but paused and turned to look at the body now occupying the seat beside him. Sen looked at him firmly as he shook his head and looked away.

“Sen—”

“Can we talk for a minute?”

A small pause. Rick let out a harsh sigh through his nose before shaking his head.

“Now's not the time,”

“Let's just talk, Okay? 10 minutes, maybe even five. Can you give me that?” He pleaded, staring over at Rick as he shifted in place for a moment. Finally he nodded and started up the car, driving it up the gravel path and into the lot where all the vehicles were. Once they came to a stop he turned off the ignition, letting his hands fall off the wheel while he looked straight ahead. He didn't say a word. Sen let out a small huff through his nose. At least he was listening...remotely.

“Okay, so...So I just wanna know where we stand,” He began, trying to sort through his words and find the right thing to say. He started mentally swearing at himself for failing horribly, the words mixing and skipping all at the same time as he grew nervous. “I uh...well...what, uh...What made you want to...you know...”

He shut his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh through his nose. He just had to let it out, get it out there and over with, like ripping off a band-aid.

“What made you wanna kiss me like that? I-I mean all of the sudden,” He said quickly, opening his eyes and nervously muttering a swear under his breath before continuing, “You know, because...that kind of came out of nowhere...kinda.”

Rick didn't respond right away. He just looked straight ahead, clearly sorting through his own thoughts and trying to find the right words to say. Eventually he just shook his head and shrugged, looking down at the steering wheel.

“I don't know,” He answered, his voice raspy and slightly muddled. He turned his head to look at the guy next to him, “...Because I wanted to, I guess.”

A small voice deep inside him wanted to scream from the mountain tops, but he kept it in. Instead he cleared his throat a few times and nodded, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck.

“S-so...You...like me then?” He inquired, the words slowly pouring out of his mouth as he braced for rejection. Rick turned and looked straight ahead at the windshield, observing all the crops and plants out in the field.

“...Yeah,” He admitted simply, after only a little bit of silence, “Yeah, I like you...a lot, actually...” He turned to face him, a smile barely visible on his lips, “Do you like me?”

Sen scoffed a little too quickly for comfort. Kei had told him repeatedly how practically everyone and their mother knew how he felt towards the leader. Even Hershel knew.

“No shit,” He let out, earning a small laugh from the man beside him. It quickly faded, and there was a long silence between them. Sen fiddled with the frayed ends of his sweatshirt as he cleared his throat a little, “...So, uh...What happens now?”

Rick turned to look at him again.

“What do you want to happen?” He asked. Sen shrugged a little.

“I dunno...This,” He said simply, “I-I mean us. I want us...to happen.” He looked over at Rick, trying to not sound too hopeful when he asked, “You're cool with that?”

He watched as Rick put his hands back on the steering wheel, gripping it nervously as he looked away and back out the windshield.

“...I don't know,” He replied honestly, “I mean, I want it too, but...how am I supposed to explain this to Carl? Any of this?”

The nurse's lips twisted to the side in thought.

“Well...Just tell him how you feel,” He reasoned, “He'll understand. He's a smart kid.”

Just then, a small voice in the back of his head told him to take it easy. It was a lot for Rick. It was different. It was probably even a little scary. He sighed a little to himself. He had to go slow.

“Look, I like you a lot Rick,” He spoke, smiling lightly as Rick turned to look at him, “And...if you don't want whatever this is to be official, or serious, that's fine. Knowing you feel the same is good enough for me.”

Rick shifted a little in his seat and furrowed, watching as Sen smiled a genuine light smile.

“We don't have to go any further than this,” He reasoned.

Rick's eyes narrowed only slightly, his head tilting.

“What if you want to?” He asked, watching as Sen shook his head firmly.

“I won't, not unless it's mutual,” He asserted, his firm look melding into a genuine smile, “If you end up wanting to go further too, then we'll go further.”

Rick stared at him with surprise, and even a little bit of awe. He was willing to actually wait, even though it was the end of the world and this could very well have been their last few moments together. Despite the whole “every-second-counts” attitude that everyone now lived by when it came to relationships, Sen was willing to be patient with him, as if he had all the time in the world.

“I gotta go check on Kei,” He heard the young nurse say, shifting in his seat.

Rick blinked and quickly let out a small “Wait”, stopping him before he could pull the handle and push the door open. Sen turned to face him and watched as Rick shifted, lifting himself and scooting over so he could get closer. He hesitated for only a second before leaning in and placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. It lasted a solid couple of seconds before he broke away, giving Sen a little space to shift his head and peck him back on the lips. He quickly stopped when the sickly feeling in his stomach grew to be too much, the sensation making a smile appear on his face. It was weird kissing him. But in a good way. A really, really good way.

“I should go,” He announced, opening the car door and casually sliding out. Rick nodded and turned his head away for a brief second, smiling as he heard someone leap back inside the car, and a surprise pair of lips firmly pressed up against his bearded cheek. He stifled a small laugh and Sen quickly broke away, leaping out of the car and bounding across the courtyard with a new burst of energy. Rick leaned over onto the passenger’s side and called out to him, the smile still on his face,

“You forgot to shut the door!”

* * *

 

“So what's going to happen, then?” Kei asked, her voice groggy and muddled as she coughed another hard cough. She looked through the viewing glass, Sen shaking his head and shrugging.

“I don't know,” He replied honestly, “We both feel something, but who knows. It could fizzle away. Maybe nothing will happen... I mean, this is some confusing shit, even for me.”

It was confusing, and there was a lot they were going to need to work out, but for right now, just knowing that Rick felt the same way about him was enough. It was more than enough, and that brought a faint smile to his face.

“It's good though,” He assured, “It feels good. Like...things could work out, you know?”

The young girl nodded, giving him a weak yet honest smile. “I'm happy for you, Bambi.”

Her smile fell as she brought her hand to her mouth, letting out a hard cough. Hearing it made Sen's heart drop. His lips twisted to the side, his head tilting as he watched her.

“How're you holding out?”

“...Trying,” She replied honestly, “Hershel's got Glenn and Sasha helping him take out the bodies. They're burning them in the back―”

She shut her eyes and let out another series of hard coughs, covering her mouth with the blanket currently wrapped around her bony body. She wiped her mouth and shivered a little as she struggled to keep her eyes open and focused.

“I'm just hoping that won't be me,”

“It won't,” He assured her, leaning forward in his seat, “Daryl and the others will be back soon. And you'll get better. You, Glenn, Sasha, everyone.”

He put his hand up the glass and attempted to smile, Kei struggling to smile right back. She slowly lifted her hand and placed it on the glass, covering his own. They stared at each other in silence for a bit, reading each others worried looks. They knew what to expect tonight. More death, more pain, more burned bodies. They could only pray that it wasn't her who was next. The sickness was only going to get worse as the day went on, and if Daryl didn't get back soon, it was likely she and the others weren't going to make it. And if that was the case, the two of them knew that they had to be ready. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

“You'll take care of him for me?” She requested.

“...Yeah,” He promised.

“And the wolves,” She added. Sen nodded his head.

“I will,” He patted the glass a few times before getting up, “Keiko... _Daisukidesu_.”

Hearing it made her heart crumble and her stomach drop. She struggled a small smile and nodded,

“...I love you too, Banbi” She rasped, clearing her throat a couple times before getting up out of her seat. She stepped away from the window and back into A block, back into the darkened ward full of sickness and pain. She silently prayed to herself that this nightmare would end soon, and that Daryl and the others would come back safe.

* * *

 

As evening rolled around, Kei felt herself getting worse. Her mattress was soaked with sweat, and her body felt like it was going to burst into flames. She slowly struggled to sit up, huffing and panting as she rested her head against the concrete wall beside her. It felt cool to the touch against her burning skin, giving her only a little relief as Hershel walked along and started shutting the cells one by one.

“You okay? Little lady?” He asked, looking into Kei's cell as she panted and groaned. Her hooded eyes looked over in his direction, her head nodding sloppily.

“Fine...” She muttered, “I'm alri―”

Her sentence cut off when another painful cough threatened to come out. She covered her mouth and let out a series of spastic coughs, ones that made her lungs and throat burn even worse than before. She picked up the water bottle on her lap and frantically drank down the rest, wincing at the pain as her throat burned and itched. After taking a drink she wiped her mouth and looked over at the old man solemnly staring back at her.

“I'm fine Hershel,” She gasped, coughing a little in her throat before smiling weakly, “Really. I'm staying positive.”

“Good. That's my girl,” He replied with a small smile, “Let me know if you need anythin' more. I still got some tea left.”

The girl weakly waved her hand and shook her head no, Hershel nodding lightly before shutting her cell door. The old farmer continued on down the line and Kei continued to rest her head against the wall. She fiddled with the water bottle in her hands as her mind started to wander. She wondered where Daryl was right now. He still wasn't back yet. She hoped he was safe. She couldn't bare to think about if he wasn't. No. He was. Daryl was a survivor, he would pull through. _She_ would pull through. Daryl was going to come back. He would come back and he would have medicine and the both of them would live to see another day.

She screwed her eyes shut as hot tears burned her eyes, slipping through the corners of her eyelids and sliding down her cheeks. A lump grew in her burning throat and she started to quietly break down, sobbing quietly to herself.

“Hershel?” A little voice called.

Kei opened her eyes and started wiping the tears away, blinking a few times as she heard Lizzie call out again.

“Heshel!” She cried, the desperation clear in her voice. Her call for help was quickly drowned out by a gurgled hiss, and Kei's eyes widened as a fellow sick patient staggered past her cell. Blood drenched the front of her clothes and covered the entire bottom half of her pale face. Alarm immediately set in, and Kei scrambled off her bed, hitting the cold floor with a hard thud. She let out a swear and started crawling pathetically towards the edge of her bed, reaching underneath and feeling around for her katana. Once she felt the strap she latched on and pulled it out, struggling to her feet and rushing for the exit. She shoved her cell door open with a loud _CLANG!_ And rushed out to see Hershel writhing on the floor, keeping his arms up against the sick patient flailing and clawing at him.

“Everyone!” He grunted out, “Get back in your cells!”

“No!” A blonde woman yelped, rushing forward and kicking the walker square in the ribs. She reached down and wrapped her bony arms around the creature, wrestling against its strength as she struggled to pry it off of the old farmer. Once it was off, Kei rushed forward for Hershel and started helping him to his feet. As she did so, a man then came out of his cell and held up a gun, pointing it right at the Walker the blonde woman was still fighting with. He was so focused on aiming for the proper head that he had forgotten about his dead son back in their cell. He was only moments from shooting when his son came up and bit down on his forearm, yanking out a huge chunk of meat and skin. The man let out a blood-curdling cry when he pressed down on the trigger, the bullet flying right through the blonde woman's stomach.

Hershel's light eyes were wide with horror as he watched everything slowly start to fall apart. Patients who weren't too sick to scream began wailing their heads off. The man who had just fallen victim to his own undead son was continuously firing off rounds as he cried in pain. The old man couldn't focus. His mind had gone blank. All he could do was watch, watch as the floors ran red and everyone cried in agony.

Bony fingers gripped his shoulders and spun him around. Kei's pale, sweaty face came into view. Her lips frantically ran a mile a minute, but no sound was coming out. He furrowed. She shook him by the shoulders and continued to talk, the sound slowly returning to his ears as everything started to finally sink in.

“Hershel! We need to save the others! Now!” She barked, “Go get Lizzie!” The doctor finally understood and nodded, the girl pulling away to get out her sword from it's sheath. As Hershel made his way upstairs, Kei rushed over and stabbed the young Walker boy in the head, his feasting on his father's neck finally coming to a stop. She then ran over to the walker that had attacked Hershel earlier and brought her sword down on it, splitting it's skull open. She yanked her sword out from it's head and staggered backwards, leaning against the cell beside her as the need to vomit came over her. It was quickly tossed aside when another walker smacked up against the cell doors and attempted to grab her by the neck. She jumped forward in shock and whipped around, watching as another sick patient growled and hissed at her from behind bars. She gripped her sword tight and gathered enough strength to thrust forward and stab it in the face. She then yanked her sword back and quickly went down along the line of cells Hershel didn't get to close. She ordered for everyone to stay inside, stopping from shutting the last one when she heard a shrill scream go off from the upper level. She whipped around and saw Lizzie on the floor, a Walker pinned down on top off her as it tried to chew at her through the oxygen mask.

“Lizzie!!” She cried out, her voice cutting off as another hard cough lodged in her throat. She let it out several times, an uncomfortable, terrifying sensation rising in her windpipe before getting stuck there. She kept coughing and coughing. The bitter taste of iron filled her mouth and she spat it out, blood splattering over the concrete floor. Oxygen was becoming harder and harder to take in, her airways and throat cutting off as more fluid filled them. She felt herself gag and sputter, her knees shaking and giving out. She dropped her sword and hit the ground with a thud, her world turning over on it's side. She held her throat with her free hand and tried her hardest to cough it out, but it was no use. It was like a plug was stuck in her throat, a cork of some kind that had cut off her breathing. The feeling was excruciating. She had to breathe.

The ache in her chest grew worse by the moment―her lungs burning, hot tears stinging her eyes as a terror came over her. The blood just kept coming up in her mouth, and the sight of it pooled beneath her made her want to vomit.

Her body shook uncontrollably as she continued to choke on her own blood. She watched as her world shook with her, black and red dots littering her vision, the sound of her short, gurgled gasps littering her ear.

Two pairs of dirty slippers stopped right in front of her vision, a pair of hands shaking her body.

“Kei! Oh God, she's choking! Hurry!” A woman cried, “Quick! Help me get her up!”

The girl felt her world shift as four hands grabbed her and dragged her over to a cell. Her world started to spin and fade, the sound of her heartbeat growing dull in her ears. She saw shadows and shapes rush across her vision before a world of black pulled her down. Her body went limp and she could hear her gasps coming to a stop, but not before hearing the muffled blast of a gunshot.

* * *

 

He tried to calm his heartbeat as best as he could, telling himself over and over that he could do this. He had to do this. There was no other option. Seeing them all there, though. A whole horde that had been piling up on the fences for months, now on the prison courtyard―It was unreal.

He tried to calm his heartbeat as best as he could, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Sen stared at the skull through his sites, and his index finger pressed down on the trigger. His arm muscles tensed as the machine gun's kickback repeatedly knocked against his shoulder, bullets shelling out in short bursts at the walker's skulls. His eyes flicked to the right for a breif second, watching as Rick knelt down and continued to fire his weapon alongside Carl. The 14 year old was looking a lot calmer than his father, his eyes intent on his target as he went from one head to another in the horde of flesh-eaters.

The walkers were getting closer, all of them piling in faster than the three of them could reload and fire. Rick got up off the ground and pulled out his empty magazine, shouting for the three of them to back up. Sen slowly started backing away, lowing his rifle and pulling out a fresh clip. He reloaded his weapon and looked back up again, watching as the leader knocked over an oncoming walker with his rifle. The creature stumbled backward and hit the ground, hissing up at him before a bullet smacked into his skull. The two men looked over at Carl, his rifle pointed down in the walker's direction. He looked back over at his dad, pulling out a magazine from his back pocket and tossing it over. Rick caught it with his good hand and quickly reloaded his weapon, stopping for a second to watch the 14 year old as he walked forward with his gun raised.

The body count was stacking up on the courtyard, walkers not getting any closer to the three as they stood in a line and fired simultaneously. The creatures were dropping like flies, some only managing to take a few steps before falling dead. After what seemed like ages of shooting and reloading, Sen could finally see the end of the Walker horde. They were down to their last one, which Rick decided to take care of with his knife.

After that, it was nothing but the sound of crickets.

The echo of rapid gunfire and snarling still buzzed in their ears as they looked down at the pile of dead walkers that littered the pavement. Sen put the safety on his rifle and shouldered it, getting out his bo staff instead while Rick and Carl got the crowbars. One by one, they walked along and shoved their weapons in the heads of the walkers that were still moving. Neither of them said a word to each other, nor made eye contact. They just listened to each other's breathing, and for more hissing sounds.

After Rick took out another Walker, the hissing had officially stopped. Sen let out an audible “Thank God,” in relief before smiling faintly, bringing a hand up and rubbing his aching neck. He looked over to Carl and saw him looking up at his dad, Rick looking away with an expression on his face that the two of them had a hard time reading. Sen was just about to open his mouth when the familiar sound of a roaring engine went off in the lower courtyard. The three of them looked over to see a car pulling up to the front gate.

“Dad,” Carl muttered, turning around to face him, “Everything's gonna be okay.”

The leader looked at him without a word and watched as he ran off to the lower courtyard. As Carl went to let the others in, Sen stepped up to the leader, watching as his light eyes lowered. The young nurse's lips twisted to the side before he placed a hand on the Sherriff's shoulder. The man didn't budge, nor did he look at him.   
  
“Hey,” Sen called, smiling lightly when the leader finally made eye contact with him. The lanky brunette struggled a small smile in response, but it quickly fell along with his eyes. Sen carefully placed his hand on the back of his leader's neck and stepped up close, getting the man to look at him once again. He gently pulled him in and pressed his lips on his sweaty forehead, Rick shutting his eyes for a second before opening them as he broke away.

“He's right you know,” He muttered, “Everything's going to be okay...”

The leader pursed his lips and looked down, nodding without a word as Sen broke away to go open up the second gate.

As the dark mini van pulled up, Tyreese was the first one to get out.

“Sasha,” He spoke hurriedly, fumbling to get out of the car, “How Sasha?!”

“I don't know,” Rick answered, shaking his head, “I'm sorry.”

His eyes flicked over to the passenger's seat door as it swung open, Daryl bolting out like a bat out of hell towards the cell block. He immediately felt his insides twist and ache, his head lowering as he tried to keep dread from showing on his expression. He'd have to tell him soon. About her.

* * *

 

The light burned her eyes as she woke up. She had to squint and blink a few times before fully opening them up. She looked to her right to see the concrete walls, and the blood stains that soapy water and hard scrubbing had failed to get out. This definitely wasn't heaven. At least, she'd hoped not.

But when she looked down to see the large male arm around her waist, and the dirty boots at the end of the bed, she'd figured it might have been. If Daryl was with her, it was the best place on earth.

She slowly turned her head and smiled weakly at his dirtied sleeping face. She missed his face. She missed him, all of him, so freaking much. She opened her mouth to talk before covering her mouth and coughing, Daryl jolting awake and looking at her with wide yet sleepy eyes.

“Jesus,” He muttered, rubbing his eyes, “You're awake.”

“Yeah,” She coughed, bringing a hand up to her mouth. She yelped as his lips suddenly pressed up against her forehead, then her cheeks, and then her lips. He littered her face with kisses, stopping only after she whined loudly in her throat.

“I'm sick!” She whimpered, turning her head away and giggling as his mouth latched onto her neck.

“Yer not,” He mumbled, nibbling on the sensitive flesh, “Doctor gave ya medicine.”

Her mouth dropped and she gasped as he ran his tongue along where he nibbled. She turned her head and gave him a heated kiss, relishing in his taste and his warmth.

“I missed you,” She groaned, whimpering as his rough hands slid up under her shirt.

“Missed ya too,” He breathed, pulling her closer to his body. Her eyes widened slightly and a surprised smile grew on her face.

“Oh!” She yelped, giggling at the feel of him pressed against her.

He smiled impishly at her and pecked at her cheeks and ear, whispering little dirty things here and there as his hands slowly wandered around her body. The smile never left her face as she held his wrists and slowly pushed his hands away.

“Stop,” She muttered, stifling a small giggle as his arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her in close again. She whimpered as he squeezed her tight and kissed the side of her head.

“I'm glad you made it back,” She mumbled into his neck, suddenly tilting her head back to look at him with wide eyes, “Oh fuck, is Lizzie okay?! And Luke?! D—”

“Shhhh,”He spoke, pressing his lips against the side of her, “They're fine. They made it. So did Sasha, and Glenn...”

She nodded lightly, her eyes falling at the memory of what happened only hours ago.

“Last night though,” She peeped, “W...we lost so many oth―”

Her voice suddenly caught in her throat and she put a hand to her mouth, trying her hardest to keep the tears and the whimpering from spilling out. Daryl's hold around her grew tighter as a hand gently rand up and down her back.

“It's gonna be okay,” He muttered, pressing his lips against her head once more, “Shhh, it'll be alright...”

The girl buried her face back into his thick shoulder and nodded, wiping her eyes on his shirt. They stayed wrapped up in each other's embrace for a few more minutes before Daryl suddenly shifted and sat up.

“You need a rest,” He remarked, stretching his arms with a grunt before looking back down at her, “Hershel's gonna stop by later to check on ya, once he gets back with Michonne.”

The girl nodded, looking up at her hunter with a sleepy smile,

“You'll check on the wolves for me?”

“I will,” He promised, leaning forward with a faint smile on his face, “Now sleep.”

He planted a firm kiss on her forehead and cheek before leaving the cell, quietly shutting the door behind him. Kei pulled up her blankets and shut her eyes, smiling in small relief. She had made it through the night, Daryl and the others were back safe, she had a lot to be thankful for...

and if she had known what was going to happen in only a few hours, she would've counted her blessings for a lot longer than she did.   
  


* * *

The Wolves were an absolute wreck. They howled and whimpered for freedom, their bodies constantly slamming up against the fenceline as Sen drew closer. He was afraid they were gonna tackle him when he let them out, and they damned near did once he opened up the basketball court fence. A swarm of fur and wet kisses and tails whipping every which way surrounded him, the entire pack so excited it nearly overwhelmed him. Ame and Shadow came barreling out and nearly knocked Carl over as they leapt into his waiting arms. Haru and Eli darted off to sniff out Hershel and Michonne. Chiyou and Summer started chasing each other around the blacktop while Ren made a beeline for the cell block. Sen watched with a smile as Shadow and Ame smothered Carl in kisses, the 13 year old letting out a shrill laugh as Ame nearly knocked his hat over.

“Hey!” He said with a giggle, turning his head away as they licked his freckled face. He ran his hands through both their furs and smiled brightly, gushing about just how much he missed them.

“I'm gonna head inside for a bit,” Sen announced, turning to look out at the lower courtyard, “Think you can keep an eye on Haru and Eli for me?”

Carl nodded and Sen started heading towards the cellblock, tilting the pre-teen's hat over his eyes as he walked past. The young nurse chuckled as he heard him let out a small “Jerk!” before laughing.

* * *

 

Sen entered the C block and went back to his cell, digging through his rucksack for his pack of cigarettes. He stopped rummaging when he heard voices going off outside.

“Ya couldn't have waited 'till we got back?!” A man hissed, his voice gravelly and rough. Sen furrowed. Daryl.

“Till _Tyreese_ got back?!” Rick retorted, his voice less of a whisper, but still lowered.

“I coulda handled that,” The hunter growled, his footsteps heavy as he paced across the floor above.

“Hey, hey!” Rick called, his voice lowering to a firm hiss, “She killed _two of our own._ She couldn't be here. ”

There was a brief pause, the silence making the young nurse furrow as he stood up.

“...She's gonna be alright,” Rick assured, “She has a car, supplies, weapons...She's—She's a survivor-”

“Stop sayin' that like you don't believe it!” Daryl bit, Rick not saying anything back for a few seconds.

“...She did it,” The leader spoke, “She said it was for us...That's how it was in her head. She wasn't sorry.”

“Man that's her,” Daryl rasped, his tone bitter and angry, “But that ain't her...What're we s'posed to do about those two girls?”

“I said we'd look after them,” Rick explained, pausing for a second before continuing, “...I haven't told Tyreese yet. I don't know how he's gonna take it...”

The thought of how Tyreese handled things earlier made Sen's stomach twist and ache. He had almost forgotten about the man for a second. He didn't know how well Tyreese was going to take it either.

“Let's go find out,” Daryl muttered.

Sen knelt down and closed up his rucksack as the two men were coming downstairs. He stepped outside of his cell and met Rick just as he was walking past.

“Everything alright?”

“It's fine,” The leader answered, stopping to turn and look at him, “We're just gonna talk to Tyreese. Tell him about Carol...”

The young Nurse could see it as plain as day, the uncertainty in his eyes.

“Do you want me to come with?”

He watched as Rick hesitated for a second, his eyes flicking down to the floor before nodding without a word. He turned to walk forward and Sen followed closely behind him, the three men heading straight for the tombs.

They found Tyreese further inside the tombs, a flashlight in one hand and a worried expression on his face. He lead them further down the hall, telling them he had something super important to show them, so important that Rick's confession would have to wait. The went around the corner and Tyreese led them right to an exit door, something strange sitting at the bottom of it. Daryl shined his flashlight on it and furrowed.

A baby rabbit, cut wide open with it's insides displayed like a dissection experiment, plastered onto a piece of cardboard.

“What the hell?” The hunter mumbled, kneeling down to get a closer look at it.

“I was just lookin' for...answers,” Tyreese admitted lowly, “And I found this.” He looked over at Rick, his eyes firm. “Same person who killed Karen and David did this.”

Daryl and Sen exchanged breif glances before turning to look back at their leader and the ex-football star.   
  
“Remember the rats at the fence?” Ty asked, his tone growing harsh and bitter by the second, “They showed up the same day she was a killed. We got a _psychopath_ livin' with us!”

“Tyreese,” Rick called calmly.

“We gotta find 'em, Rick,” The stocky man interrupted, “...And I'm not gonna sleep until we do.”

Rick turned his head and exchanged a glance with Daryl before looking down at the floor. He took a shaking breath before speaking again, Sen's stomach dropping and twisting at the same time. He was gonna do it.

“Tyreese,” The leader said carefully, his flashlight pointing back to the morbid piece on the floor, “Whoever did _this_ , I don't think that's who killed Karen...” 

Tyreese furrowed at him, his eyes looking down at the rabbit before looking back at the leader. 

“Why?” 

Just then, the whole prison shook as the sound of an explosion went off above them.

* * *

Sen followed closely behind Daryl as they bolted out onto the courtyard, weapons out and at the ready as others in the group were already outside. Bob, Sasha, Beth, Maggie, and Carl all huddled beside gate that lead to the lower courtyard, hiding behind the tower for visual cover. They started to lean out and peer at what caused the explosion, but Rick quickly stopped them.

“Get back!” He barked, everyone huddling back behind the tower as Rick and Daryl approached the gate. Sen walked up beside them and looked out, his eyes widening and his heart leaping up into his throat. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Six cars lined up right outside the front with a tank sitting in the middle, a group of armed civilians surrounding it. A tall, lanky man in dark clothing stood on top of the tank, his hands resting on his hips with authority. He'd recognized that stance at an instant, and once he realized just who it was, his stomach twisted into a knot.

“Rick!” The Governor called out, his voice cloyingly thick with a southern drawl, “Come down here....We need to talk.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIIIIGHT! Onto writing the next one!   
> I have a few good ideas brewing in this little head of mine.   
> These next few chapters are gonna be goooood. *maniacal laugh*


	48. Too Far Gone pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don't look back,” He breathed, “Both of you. Just keep walkin'...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my little banana pops!  
> Sorry i haven't updated since...i dunno, 300 B.C. lmao. I've been a hella busy bee. o(╥﹏╥)o  
> Here's a little something for you guys though! hopefully after midterms next week, i'll have a little more free time to write and update faster.  
> enjoy! xx

Sen watched through his sites as Rick stood before the small crowd, face to face with the firing end of a tank and several rifles. Haru, Eli, and Shadow stood beside him, growling and snarling at the enemy group with their backs arched and their fangs bored. Hershel and Michonne were on the other side of the fence, forced to sit on their knees with their hands bound behind them. The Governor stood above on the tank, hands on his hips and a smug grin on his face. He thinks he's won.

“We gotta do something,” Carl muttered, re-gripping the rifle in his hands.

“Yer Dad's got it,” Daryl growled beside him, his rifle raised and pointed at the enemy. He watched Rick intently as he continued to talk with the outside group.

“They're _talking_ ,” The teen huffed in frustration, “I could kill the Governor right now!”

“Yeah, from 50 yards?” The hunter scoffed.

“I'm a good shot,” Carl bit, the anger clear in his voice, “I could end this right now...”

“Or you could start something else,” Sen opined, wiping the sweat from his forehead before going back to looking through his rifle scope, “You have to trust him...”

The young nurse kept his eyes on the leader, his heart racing a mile a minute as they continued to talk. The Governor kept shaking his head and talking, refusing every little thing Rick and Hershel seemed to reason him with. A few faces in the enemy group were starting to look unsure, some even starting to lower their rifles after some time. The Governor suddenly moved. He got down from the tank and walked over to his fellow group member, pulling out Michonne's sword from it's sheath and stomping over to Hershel. Maggie and Beth rushed up to the fence and screamed “NO!” as the man pressed the blade up against Hershel's neck. Sen felt like he was going to be sick. He tried to control his breathing as he raised his rifle up, trying his hardest to focus and get The Governor's skull smack dab in the center of his scope.

The prison group all watched as Rick moved and pointed to everyone on the other side of the fence. He then pointed back to the prison, and then over to the gates, his eyes never leaving the enemy group. The Governor pressed the blade further against the farmer's neck, and Beth started to audibly whimper, Maggie choking back tears that were starting to form. Rick never let up. He continued to move and speak with such ferocity and passion, much like he did back when he called himself “Leader.” The young nurse could tell Rick's words were starting to take hold, especially when he saw Hershel smile and The Governor starting to lower Michonne's sword. He started pulling it away from Hershel's neck, and Sen felt his stomach starting to unwind. He watched as the Governor looked over at Rick without uttering a word, his grip on the weapon suddenly tightening.

And before any of them knew it, the man threw his arms back and swung the sword around.

The young nurse felt his world stop as he saw the blood spurt out of Hershel's neck. Liquid filled his ears, drowning out Maggie and Beth's shrill cries beside him. He couldn't hear anything. Not the wolves, not Rick, not even Sasha and Tyreese as they called for him to fall back. All he could do was watch. Watch in sickening horror as his friend started to keel over and fall dead onto the grassy floor.

He couldn't believe it.This didn't feel real. It was like he was outside of his body, forced to watch as the grass ran red and the wolves opened their mouths, no sound coming out of any of them. Beth and Maggie continued to scream. He couldn't hear anything.

What brought him back was the sound of Rick's voice as he let out a yell so painful, it would have made God himself weep in agony.

“NO!!”

Rick raised his gun and fired directly into the Governor's shoulder, the man hunching over and retreating back into his group. All of them provided cover fire, aiming their weapons at Rick as he continued to fire and retreat backwards towards the overturned bus. Sen felt his heart both sink and rise at the same time, his eyes widening as a bullet flung straight into Rick's leg. The leader let out a cry and toppled over into the grass, the sight making Sen's heart leap into his throat as he shouted out “NO!!!”

He pressed down on the trigger of his rifle and started shelling off rounds towards the enemy. Soon after, everything started to fall apart. Both sides fired off round after round at each other, the prison group a broken and angry force as they tried to keep the enemy from advancing. The young nurse could barely focus, his heart still breaking over Hershel and yet burning in hatred towards the Governor. There was nothing on this earth he wanted to destroy more than him right now. Not walkers, not plunderers, only Phillip Blake; the one-eyed son of a bitch who had ruined each and every one of their lives―all by a simple swing of a sword.

The young nurse tried to look past all the gunsmoke through his scope and find him. He wanted to watch as the bullet smacked into his skull, and he wanted to see the wolves tear him apart soon after. He shot down anything that appeared in his scope, any enemy head or limb that prevented him from getting who he truly wanted. He was so focused on it he didn't hear the man screaming beside him.

It was only when Daryl grabbed his shirt collar and started yanking him that he finally snapped out of his daze, blinking and looking around as if he had just woken up.

“Tank's comin'!” He heard Daryl yell over the gunfire, “C'mon!”

He dragged Sen over to the safety of the wood pallets and started firing through the openings. The young nurse reloaded his rifle and raised it, firing carefully at the enemy as they drew closer and closer to the upper gate.

“Ya need to get Kei!” He heard Daryl yell beside him. Sen looked over at him for a brief second before going back to focusing on The Governor's group.

“You need back up!” He retorted.

“I got this!” Daryl barked, ceasing fire to look at him with firm anger in his eyes, “Get Kei and get her on the bus, now! That's yer job!”

“B―”

“I got Rick!” The hunter yelled, “Just do it!!”

“Shit!” Sen hissed, ducking as a bullet nicked the pallet with a loud _ping!_ He looked up at Daryl and nodded, turning and keeping his head low as he rushed for the cell blocks.

  
  


Another loud explosion shook the prison and made Kei wake up with a start. She looked around with wide eyes as everyone in block A started running around in a panic. Ren was still seated outside Kei's door, growling and barking in a frenzy.

“C'mon we gotta go! We gotta go!” She heard a bunch of them say outside her cell. Kei quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed, hurriedly zipping up her jeans as she ran to the curtain and slid it open.

“What's going on?!” She asked, stopping Jeanette just as she started walking past. The older woman turned around, her brown eyes wide in horror as she frantically started putting on her pink robe.

“I-I don't know I-I think someone's attackin' the place!” She let out. Kei's mouth dropped for a second and suddenly the cellblock door opened up. Sen came running through cupping his hands around his mouth.

“EVERYONE HEAD TOWARDS THE BUS! LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND! EMERGENCY SUPPLIES ARE ON THE BUS! HURRY!” He started going down the cells, yelling and urging everyone to leave what they had behind. There was no time to really stop and pack, just to run.

Kei looked down at Ren and whistled, the red wolf perking up as the girl knelt down and held her face close.

“Ren, I need you to stay with Judith, okay?” She muttered, running her bony fingers through her fur, “Protect her and the kids no matter what, okay? Protect them at all costs.”

She planted a firm kiss on the wolf''s head and gently nudged her away with a hard “ _Go!_ ”

The Red wolf darted out of the cellblock quick as lightning, Sen watching as the animal disappeared into the halls as he rushed up to Kei's side.

“What's going on?” She asked, her eyes wide and her breathing rushed.

“The Governor's attacking the place,” He said quickly, “Hershel's...I-It's bad. A total fucking shitstorm out there. We have to go _now._ ”

He grabbed Kei's hand and pulled her along into the tombs. He felt her resisting a little along the way, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. She was still pretty weak from sickness.

“But I could stay and hel―!”

They both stopped as another explosion rattled through the building, this time causing bits of the ceiling to break off. As soon as the shaking stopped, Sen pulled her forward again and they both broke out into a sprint down the hallway.

“You're going on the bus with the others!” He said loudly over the commotion, “It's not just my orders, it's Daryl's too! You can look after the others!”

“That's bullshit!” She barked as Sen pushed open the door to C block, “I'm staying here with you guys!”

“I'm not arguing with you on this!” He bit, grabbing her hand again and dragging her over to his cell, “Stay.”

He rushed into his cell and grabbed his rucksack and bo staff, Kei folding her arms at him as he walked out.

“Oh, what happened to _leaving things behi_ ―”

“Come on,” He interrupted, taking her hand again and pulling her towards the exit.

  
Sen wasn't lying when he said it was a total shitstorm. The courtyard was destroyed. Smoke was everywhere. Explosions and bullets were going off in every direction, she couldn't even pinpoint where they were coming from. She just kept her head low and her body hunched over as she followed her best friend towards the bus.

Almost everyone who was in block A was already on board when she stepped inside. Her brown eyes quickly scanned their terrified faces before her heart sunk into her stomach. She saw there was no sign of Judith or Glenn or the kids, and that worried her. She turned around quickly and looked down at Sen from the doorway, her eyes wide with panic.

“Glenn's not here, or the kids!”

“Shit,” He muttered bitterly, running a hand through his hair before taking a quick breath, “Okay. Just stay here! I'll go find them!”

“But-!”

“Stay!” He bit, pointing a finger at her, much like she did with her wolves. She frowned for a second before her expression softened as he gave her a hard kiss on the cheek. He broke away quickly to look at her, his eyes wild and frantic,

“I'll find them!” He said loudly over the noise, “Just stay here! I'll be right back!”

He sprinted off into the smoke-filled haze, ducking down low as bullets continued to fly around him. Kei stomped her foot down in frustration, grunting at how helpless and useless she felt right now. If only she had her weapons.

“Oh _shit_ ,” She gasped, her eyes wide in realization as she leaned out of the doorway, “Sen! My weapo―!”

Too late. He was already gone. She let out a swear and smacked her hand against the doorway in frustration. This couldn't be happening to them right now. She put her hands to her sweaty face and shook her head, whimpering in her throat as a raging mix of emotions started coming over her. This couldn't be happening, The Governor attacking them like this. Everything was falling apart, no one was ready for it.

But worst of all, no one was together.

 

Everyone was everywhere; firing guns, running around, Sen could barely tell friend from foe in this smoke. All he could tell apart was human from walker as he fired his handgun into a Walker's skull. All the noise had drawn a whole herd of them in. And thanks to the Governor's tank rolling over a section of the fence, it was only a matter of time before they became completely overwhelmed. The prison wasn't livable for any of them now. They had limited ammo, their friends were dropping like flies―All they could do now was try to gather up whoever was left and run.

“Daryl!!” Sen yelled, staggering around through the smoke, “DARYL!!”

He let out a yelp as more bullets whizzed over his head, smacking into the chests of a pair of walkers. He turned around sharply and pointed his gun at the shooter, lowering it when he noticed the brown sheriff's hat atop a familiar teenage boy's head, and a grey wolf loyally by his side.

“Where's dad?!” Carl shouted out, Sen shaking his head.

“I don't―” He jumped as he heard more bullets being pelted against metal. He turned around sharply, watching as gunfire rained on the bus as it started speeding away. If he had time to roll eyes and fling his arms up and swear, he would have done it. But right now getting Rick and Carl out of here was all that mattered. Kei was safe on the bus, and hopefully with Daryl beside her.

“We'll go find him!” He said as he turned around, “We need to...”

Both Carl and Ame were gone from their spot. The man quickly reloaded his handgun with a swear and hunched over, dodging as many walkers and bullets as he could as he ran out onto the lower courtyard.

It wasn't long before he found Rick. He followed the leader's voice, him calling out Carl's name over and over in desperation. When Sen caught sight of him through the smokey screen, he nearly dropped his gun in shock. The leader was battered and bloody, his face swollen and only half recognizable. Blood and sweat stained his skin and tattered shirt, his pant leg wet and clinging to his thigh from all the blood still seeping out of his bullet wound.

“Rick!” He called out, rushing up to him and clinging to him as the man toppled into his arms, “Holy shit...Jesus―”

“Carl,” The leader rasped, his breathing labored and ragged, “Where's...Carl?”

“He's fine, he's up here,” Sen said quickly, staggering as he helped Rick along, “Come on, he's up here.”

The two men stumbled up the gravel path and into the courtyard, both of them calling Carl's name along the way. There was no answer, and Sen's heart was breaking more and more by the second. Rick's grip on the young nurse's arm grew tighter as his calls became more broken and desperate, tears painfully burning his swollen eyes.

“CARL!!!” He let out, stopping in his tracks as he noticed two more walkers staggering in their direction. Sen quickly fumbled with one hand as he raised his gun and pulled the trigger, the gun going _click_ in response.

“Shit!” He hissed, letting go of Rick and quickly reaching into his back pocket for another clip. Just before he could pull it out, one of the walker's skulls exploded and then the other, both of them falling over to reveal Carl behind them with his rifle. Rick staggered forward and opened his arms wide, Carl running into them and holding his dad tight. The leader only had a few seconds to relish it before he took a step back to look down at him.

“Judith,” He spoke, his speech difficult with his swollen lips, “Where isshe?”  
  
“I don't know...” Carl answered, shaking his head as he looked over at Sen. The nurse had reloaded his weapon and fired at another oncoming walker, quickly placing it back in his holster before rushing over to the two.

“We have to go,” He said, draping Rick's arm over his shoulder, “Come on. Carl, you're on point.”

The boy nodded and started rushing forward with his gun raised, quickly stopping and looking to the right. As Rick and Sen stepped up to him, they noticed he was looking further into the courtyard, over at a small object resting beside the water barrels.

It was Judith's baby seat.

The three of them rushed over and looked to see nothing inside. Seeing that nothing was there would have made Sen's fears rest easier, but it did no such thing.

Blood stained the once pretty pink cloth that decorated the inside, and Sen felt his heart fall deep into the pit of his aching stomach.

“No...” He let out in a breath, his throat burning and his eyes welling up with tears, “No...”

He pursed his lips and choked back the need to cry, failing horribly as Rick started to break down right beside him. The leader let out a cry in sheer agony and gripped onto Sen's shoulders tight as Carl broke away. The young teen had spotted a walker, and decided to unload every bullet he had on it. Long after his rifle was empty, he still kept cocking it and pulling the trigger. Finally, the two men stumbled over and pulled the boy away, holding him as they staggered out of their destroyed home for good.

 

They were a good distance away from the prison, and just about to enter the smoke-filled woods when Sen and Carl started to slow. The two of them were about to turn and look back at the devastation when Rick's voice stopped them.

“Don't look back,” He breathed shakily, “Both of you. Just keep walkin'...”

Sen and Carl exchanged glances with each other before looking ahead. They gripped Rick's arms tight and helped him along, continuing forward into the woods with Shadow and Ame leading the way. Home was behind them now. The group was broken up. The only thing any of them could do now was fight. It was no longer about building comfy homes and establishing a sense of normalcy and civilized behavior. All of that was over. It was about survival, it always had been. The Governor had realized it, and the Prison group had too, but only after receiving one of the most devastating of wake-up calls. Home was temporary. Absolute safety was a dream. Thinking everything and everyone would be okay was a joke. How could they have expected any less?

After all, this  _was_ the end of the world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, apologies for the shortness. I've got some good ideas for the rest of Season 4, though.  
> and omfg i just realized there's 2 weeks left until season 5 starts up! i am slaaacking hahahaha [*sweats nervously*] (⊙ヮ⊙;;)／


	49. After: No Place for a Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ya heard me? I said get up,” He demanded, “C'mon, Girl.”

“ _Koiibiiitoo_ ,” She said slowly, giggling at Daryl's frown as he tried to repeat it.

“K-Ko-”

“ _Koi-bi-to_ ,” She repeated.

“Ko-bee―” The hunter huffed and shook his head, “Ya know what? Fuck it,”

She let out a laugh and reached out to him as he started to get up, “Aw, come on! You almost had it!” She tugged on his arm and got him to sit back down again. He laid flat across the mattress and opened his arms up as she scooted in close, snuggling into his frame. He planted a firm kiss on the side of her head before looking back up at the ceiling.

“What's it mean, anyway?”

“Lover,” She answered simply, lifting her head to look at him, “Like a boyfriend or girlfriend...It's what you call someone you truly love. Romantically.”

His thin lips twisted to the side a little. She could tell he was trying to hide a smile. She looked down and gently ran her fingertips down the stitches of his jacket, shutting her eyes as Daryl casually ran his fingers through her hair.

“Japanese people don't really toss the word 'love' around so casually,” She remarked, looking down and gently toying with the frayed ends of his shirt, “We take it very seriously...I guess that's why we have different words to express the levels of affection we have for someone...To preserve it's meaning, I guess.”

“...So...ya really mean it then?” He asked, looking down at her with raised brows, "When ya say it to me?" She smiled at him, her nose wrinkling in the process,

“I've always meant it,”

She watched as Daryl failed to hide his boyish grin and scoffed. He pulled her in close and the girl couldn't help but giggle, shutting her eyes as he pressed his lips firmly to her forehead.

When she opened them again, she was engulfed in smoke.

She blinked a few times, her mind a blank slate, failing to register her surroundings. The sky was a mix of grey and white, the smothering scent of burning fires and rotted flesh filled the air. The sound of crackling flames were no match to the gutteral moans and hisses sounding from below her.

Below her. The walkers.

Things were starting to come back. The prison was attacked. All hell had broken loose. The fences went down, and the walkers came pouring in. She went to find Daryl and get her weapons before...

She grunted as she got up, her back aching from the uneven ground she had collapsed on. She slowly sat up and put a hand to her head as she looked around, the sight making her stomach drop.

Walkers everywhere, all across the prison. Emptied vehicles riddled with bullet holes, and dead bodies being feasted on left and right. She couldn't believe her eyes. This couldn't have been her home. It was destroyed.

And speaking of destroyed, the catwalk she was on had been blown to bits, cutting her off from getting to C block with ease.

She let out a groan as she struggled to her feet, her legs wobbling as she staggered forward. She knelt down to look over the new ledge that had been created (thanks to the Tank nearby). Walkers huddled around in a tight mass, knocking into each other as they rose their dead hands high above them, all clamoring to get to her.

The girl stepped away slowly and turned around to head back inside, darkness and smoke enveloping her as she walked blindly into the tombs.

She grabbed a lamp off the side of the wall and carefully turned it on with shaking hands. Her fears lifted a little more once the light helped her see where she was going. She kept quiet as she stepped through the halls, her breathing shaky and erratic as she tried to listen for any Walkers. She went down one hall and then turned onto the next, her surroundings growing familiar once she recognized the doorway to block C. She quietly stepped up to the door and slowly opened it, cringing at the loud creaking sound it made. She stood frozen for a few seconds, listening for any hissing or gargling. When she didn't hear any, she moved forward again, making a beeline for her and Daryl's cell.

She swung open the curtain and looked inside, the bed still unmade and Daryl's clothes littered everywhere. Seeing it all emptied out made her eyes water.

Then again, that could have been the smoke―hazy clouds seeping in through the gaping holes in the walls.

Kei shuffled over to the bed and plopped down, laying flat across the mattress as she brought her hands up to her face. She covered her eyes and tried to sort out her thoughts in the darkness. Everyone was gone. Scattered. Split up or laying dead somewhere. Where would they go? Rick never set up a rendezvous point in case there was an attack. No one saw this coming. She wasn't prepared.

She whimpered in her aching throat, tears burning her eyes as the feeling of helplessness started to peak. There was nothing anyone can do. She was alone. Daryl and everyone was gone. Gone or dead.

Dead. Just thinking of the word caused her to choke and break into a sob. The people she cared about, the wolves, everyone could have died. They could all be dead right now and she was the only one left―stuck and forced to survive on her own in this hell hole. Just like her family.

Two families dead.

She broke into a full on sob as she curled up into a ball, clutching onto the blankets tightly as she tried to wake herself up over and over from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. It just had to. She couldn't imagine being alone again. After all that she had done, everything she went through for her group, for family. She couldn't stand the thought of being by herself with just her thoughts.

But the bitter truth was, she would have to.

From here on out, there was no “us”, just “me”. She would have to go out and face the world on her own. She was alone now, and there was no changing it.

She was alone in a prison full of walkers and fire.

The girl slowly sat up in bed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, sniffling as she listened to the growls and hisses that continued from outside. She looked over at the gaping hole in the concrete wall through her tears, watching as sunlight and smoke kept pouring in.

And the more the girl thought about it, the more she realized that she had to leave.

There was nothing left for her here. No group, no form security. Only fire and smoke and rotting flesh.

This was no place for a wolf.

She slowly got up off the bed and started packing, grabbing her rucksack and stuffing it with clothes and whatever provisions she could find around the emptied cellblock. She found a pack of batteries, three cans of food, a small lamp, a sleeping a bag, even a bottle of water. She took a couple of Daryl's shirts and packed them with her own, leaving one out for her to change into. As she buttoned up the loose-fit, dirtied, and sleeveless flannel, she paused for a second to look down at the familiar pattern, lowering her head to take in the scent of him. She closed her eyes and lifted up the collar to her nose, her hunter's steely blue eyes and crooked smile flashing across her mind. Her eyes shut tighter as her heart began aching in her chest. She hoped to God he was safe. Alive and safe with someone, anyone else in her group. She'd hoped he wasn't alone. Not like her.

She opened her eyes again and slung her bag and quiver over her shoulders, picking up her sword and bow and walking out of the cell. She could feel her steps getting heavier and heavier as she walked through the tombs, her heart sinking further and further into her stomach. Her world was changing. She was leaving everything behind. Nothing was going to be the same after this.

As she reached the exit, she found herself stopping right in front of the doorway. Her stomach started twisting into knots, her heart thumping in her chest. Hell was in front of her, behind the damaged metal doors that had separated her from reality for so long. The second she walked through those doors, she would have to fight, every minute of her life. She would have to fight harder than ever, not just against walkers and plunderers, but against an unseen enemy that would follow her wherever she went. This enemy couldn't be killed or reasoned with, and that scared her the most. She would have to fight constantly against it, and she prayed to God that she had the will to as she shoved open the doors.

* * *

  
  


She felt like she was outside of herself as she ran, never stopping as she swung sword around. She cut down every walker that stood in her way, watching as blood and heads flew around in the smoke-filled fog. She could feel her feet thumping hard across the grass, the taste of smoke and ash in her mouth. She never stopped moving, she couldn't stop, she had to keep going.

And she did, until she saw the small herd of walkers surrounding a small body.

She stopped when she saw the paws, and the skinny limbs now broken and stripped of skin and fur. She saw them rip apart the gorgeous dark gray fur and dive their shriveled hands in to pull out the intestines.

She stared into the animal's dull eyes and all the blood left her face; her thoughts going along with it.

She screamed as she ran for them, raising her sword high―stabbing and skewering and slicing until they were nothing. As the last walker fell dead into the heap of limbs and heads, she finally got a chance to look into Eli's dark eyes, flies and bugs skittering across them. Her sword suddenly felt heavy, heavier than a lead weight in her hands, so she dropped it. Falling to her knees, she crawled over to Eli's body, tears blurring her vision as her heart began to burn and break.

Her breathing was erratic as she whimpered and shook, unable to process the image and figure out what to do first. Patch up the gaping hole in his stomach? Put the broken ribs back together? Or plug up the bullet wounds that littered his sweet face?

“E...e...”

She couldn't even bring herself to finish his name.

The words felt heavy, staying lodged in her burning throat.

All she could do was close her eyes and scream, scream and cry in sheer agony. She didn't care if walkers heard and came to tear her apart. She was alone, alone and in pain. She could feel the hole already placed in her heart by her family being ripped open even wider. She couldn't stand it, the pain, all the loss. She had lost everyone. Her family, her group. All she could do was cry and mourn in agony, like a mother who had just lost her child. Like someone who had lost everything.

* * *

  
  


This was hell on earth.

Carl and Rick had been on terrible terms the entire time. Distant, lashing out at each other, no one really talking unless it was a command or a snarky comment. Sen was on the verge of cracking, wanting to smack both of them to hell and back and yell about how they had an even bigger problem on their hands. He understood their pent up anger and frustration given how things were in this world, but he hated how they skated around whatever issues they had with each other. This was the end of the world, he figured, they might as well get it all out while they were still alive.

Though, he wasn't sure for how long. Given how things were at the moment.

Rick's breathing was labored. He could barely stand, let alone walk. Hell, it was a miracle that somehow, by sheer willpower, he managed to. The three of them had found a house that looked relatively safe and livable for the time being. After a whole day of being on the road, hearing nothing but the two them bickering with each other, Sen was relieved to finally be able to crawl away and crash on something softer than a prison cot. He just needed some time―a small moment of peace and quiet so he could process just what the hell had happened to them, and what their next move would be.

When nightfall rolled around, Carl came downstairs with a bunch of cable wires and started tying the front door shut. Sen stepped forward to help secure it, but stopped when heard the couch slowly skidding across the hardwood floor. He turned and saw Rick struggling to push it with one shoulder, determination clear on his battered face. Sen let out a faint, frustrated sigh and went to go help him. Like father, like son, the nurse figured. He now realized that _both_ of them had problems with asking for help. He got behind the couch and started pushing it forward, Carl turning and stepping out of the way just as it pressed up against the door.

“I tied the door shut!” He bit.

“We don't need to take any chances,” Sen huffed.

“You don't think it'll hold?” The teen asked, the attitude clear in his voice. Sen was just about to say something, but Rick beat him to it,

“Carl!”

“It's a strong knot!” The boy snapped, “12-hitch... _Shane_ taught me. Remember him?”

Sen furrowed and turned to look at Rick. He could tell that the boy had struck a nerve with his Dad, the Sheriff curling his swollen lip inwards as he looked his son firmly in the eye.

“Yeah I remember him,” He rasped, “I remember him every day.”

Carl continued to look at him, his lips pursing as his dad took a step forward. “There somethin' else you wanna say to me?”

The young boy swallowed bitterly before his head fell, instead of saying more he just stepped over to the couch and helped push it up against the door. The three of them shifted it so it sat upright, and as it hit the floor with a thud, Sen could hear wheezing coming from beside him. He turned and looked at Rick as he hunched over slightly, cradling his side in pain. He continued to wheeze and pant as he stood up straight again, clearly trying his hardest to make it look like he wasn't hurting as he limped over to the bag of supplies. He pulled out an unopened bag of macaroni noodles and handed it over to Carl. The young teen looked at it once before looking away.

“We should _save it_ ,” He said bitterly, going about his business with setting down blankets for the three of them. He started walking away when Rick got up with the small bag, the young boy stopping as his dad let out a firm, “Hey.”

Carl tuned and stared at the bag as it was held out to him, sighing in frustration as he looked back at his dad,

“I don't want any,” He said firmly.

“Eat it,” Rick bit, clearly fed up as he tossed the bag to the boy's feet “ _Now._ ”

He limped past without another word and headed straight for the bathroom just down the hall. Carl continued setting up his bed, ignoring the bag completely and leaving Sen to pick it up. He tossed the bag back onto the couch and looked over at the boy, sighing as he shook his head and walked away to go find Rick.

He made his way over to the bathroom and knocked softly on the door, carefully opening it to find Rick struggling to unbutton his shirt with his one good hand. The young nurse stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind him, walking over to help him before he hurt himself any further. He stepped up to the leader and told him to hold still, the sheriff obliging without a word. Instead he let his arms fall to his sides and watched as he undid each button.

“...Thanks,” He muttered, Sen simply shaking his head and carefully sliding the tattered cloth off his shoulders. He maneuvered around as carefully as he could, Rick grunting softly in pain as he shifted to help get the shirt off. Sen set the shirt down to the side and stared at the man's slim figure, dark marks running all along the right side of his torso. Damn, The Governor sure did a number on him.

He turned Rick to the side, using what little light the full moon had given them to observe the bruising on his ribs. He carefully ran his fingertips , making mental note of the bruising and the warmth that radiated from the swollen area.

“How bad is it?” The leader asked.

“I'd say a cracked rib, _at least_ ,” Sen deduced, carefully turning the man to inspect his back, “We need some ice...antiseptic...some strong ass painkillers...”

He heard Rick scoff softly before going quiet again. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Sen's eyes fluttering over the dirt marks and cuts that littered his leader's skin. The young nurse's lips pursed and curled inwards, slightly hesitant before finally opening his mouth to speak,

“I'm gonna have to go on a run,”

The leader instantly shook his head. “No,”

“Rick, you need medicine,”

The leader turned around quickly, facing him with an adamant look on his face, “We stick together―”

“You have Carl,” Sen interrupted, his voice soft so“You have Carl, and Ame, and Shadow...”

He saw the pained look in his leader's eyes and watched as the man looked away in stubborn refusal. The lanky nurse sighed, stepping forward and gently cupping the Sheriff's face.

“Hey,” He whispered, carefully pulling Rick close and kissing the side of his head, “I'll be fine. I will...I can get by on my own for a bit.”

He took a small step back to look Rick in the eyes, the worry still clear in his bright blues.

“You need medicine, and we need more food,” The Nurse pressed.

Still, Rick shook his head,

“No,” He rasped, “No...”

Sen bit his lip, watching with sadness in his eyes as Rick swallowed and his eyes fell, “I don't...wanna...”

“I know,” Sen finished, carefully pecking the corner of his mouth, “I know...”

He carefully pecked the man on the lips and let Rick fall into his frame, the man leaning in and gently burying his face into his shoulder. He could feel Rick's good hand gripping onto the back of his shirt, holding it tight as if he was holding on for dear life. Sen shifted and kissed the side of the man's head again, shutting his eyes and whispering “We'll be fine,” over and over.

“ _Everything's gonna be fine..._ ”

* * *

  
  


She had to keep running. She couldn't stop. She had to get away. Away from the prison, away from the walkers, away from everything. She started to wonder how far she could go. How far _should_ she go. Until she was out of town? Out of Georgia? She should just run, she thought―run until she reached the very edge and then run right off.

She ran through the woods, climbing over fallen trees and upturned roots, listening to the gutteral moans that sounded behind her. She could hear them over her boots stomping against the forest floor and her breath coming out in harsh pants. They weren't giving up. And neither would she. She could feel the sweat and heat starting to take it's toll on her, the weight of her rucksack and duffel bag and quiver starting to add onto her struggle. Still, she kept running. She had to keep running.

She pushed herself to keep going, her legs pumping harder as she tried to get ahead of the creatures. It was all she could focus on. Running. Running. Running. She didn't care about anything else in this moment, just running. She turned her head only once to look back before she felt her foot get caught, and before she knew it her world started to turn on it's side. She tripped on a root and toppled over, unable to stop herself as she started going downhill. She let out a sharp scream as she started tumbling down, her world rolling and spinning and her body aching in sharp pain as she kept hitting the ground along the way. She finally managed to stop when she hit the bottom, landing right on her duffel and sheathed sword with a hard thud. She let out a huff of air as pain shot through her spine and side, her supplies not being the softest things in the world to land on. She laid there for a solid minute, looking up at the sky, wide eyed in horror as she tried to process what had happened. Her heartbeat racked her ribcage, thumping wildly as her stomach twisted in knots. She put a hand to her chest, trying hard to control her breathing as she struggled to get herself up. She let out a pained grunt as she moved, every bone in her body aching as she slowly got up and made her way forward.

She walked around and picked up the bags she dropped before continuing forward again, not bothering to clean herself up or give herself a minute's rest. Instead, she kept going. She had to keep going. She couldn't stop.

  
  


The woods seemed to go on forever. Miles and miles of trees and bushes. She had to be coming up to a road soon, she thought. She had been going on for so long, the damn forest had to have an ending somewhere.

It wasn't long before she finally dropped her bags in defeat, fatigue and her aching feet finally winning over her stubbornness. She plopped down onto the forest floor and sighed, taking in the scent of dried leaves and damp earth. She liked the smell. It was oddly comforting.

She opened her eyes and looked forward, noticing a thicket up ahead that was decorated with little black, shiny dots on it. She lifted her head and squinted at it. They looked like berries.

Her eyes widened and she let out an audible gasp, scrambling to her feet and practically running straight into the bush. She started ripping the berries off the leaves, shoving them into her mouth and munching down on them like they were her last meal. She savored the bittersweet pulp, paying no mind to the prickly and tart flesh they adorned on the outside. She smiled to herself and quietly thanked God for the gift of food. She started devouring the berries by the handful, her eyes wandering over the berry bush before noticing the white fuzz underneath the leaves. She frowned and looked at the bush, something oddly familiar about it.

“ _Ya can't eat those,” She heard Daryl say behind her._

_The girl turned away from the bush and looked over at him, clearly confused as he came to a stop from his journey towards Hershel's farm. The man shook his head and sighed, running a hand through his short, greasy hair as he muttered something under his breath. It sounded a lot like “Hopeless.” He let the small bundle of firewood he'd been collecting fall to his feet before he moved, walking over to the small bush that she had been staring at curiously._

“ _C'mere,” He signaled, the girl walking over to his side as he picked off a small bushel._

“ _These're bad for ya,” He explained, turning a leaf over to reveal the snowy white underside,“Look. They got white under the leaves. They're poisonus.”_

_She peered at the plant curiously before looking back at him, still not saying a word as he picked off a berry and showed it to her._

“ _It's best you know the difference if yer ever gonna live off the land,” He spoke, “Ya eat a buncha these, and yer gonna die.”_

Just then, her eyes went wide as tennis balls and her stomach dropped to the ground.

“Oh, sh―” She leaned over and spat out whatever she had in her mouth, panic striking her like a bolt of lightning. Her breathing grew erratic as she dropped to her knees and hunched over, fear consuming all of her thoughts as she started frantically shoving her fingers down her throat. She tried to think of anything to make herself throw up; walkers, the image of Eli―her mind was racing too fast for her to really process anything. It wasn't long before the fear of being poisoned and dead in general became enough, making her hunch over and hurl up the berries and more onto the ground. She continued to cough and spit up whatever she had, her whole body shaking in fear at the thought of absentmindedly consuming something so poisonous. She could have died. She _could_ be dying. Did she throw it all up? She could die right now.

That thought made her throw up more, her throat burning and her eyes stinging with tears. She held her stomach and groaned in agony, toppling over into the leaves and laying there in a shaking, sickly mess. She couldn't believe this was happening. She hadn't even been on her own for more than a day and already she's almost killed herself twice. She screwed her eyes shut, shuddering and crying on the forest floor. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Everything had fallen apart. Everyone was gone. She didn't know what to do now. She was lost.

Thinking about it made her cry even harder, hot tears spilling out and landing on the dried leaves. She was lost, alone, and terrified out of her mind. All her worst fears had officially come to life, and she was scared out of her mind. What was she to do now? What else was there to do?  
  
 _“Well, for starters, you could get ya ass up off the floor,”_

_Kei turned her head sharply to the right, watching as Daryl limped along, cradling his bandaged side as he dragged along his crossbow. His bandaged head was soaked with dirt and sweat and his skin was littered with cleaned cuts and bruises. Falling off cliff-side would do that to you._

“ _Come on, you could help me with this,” He grumbled, the girl still blinking at him wordlessly. She watched as he took heavy strides up to her her, stopping just a foot away from her nose. Her eyes fell down to his dirty boots caked with mud and grass._

“ _Ya heard me? I said get up,” He demanded, “C'mon, Girl.”_

The sound of twigs snapping caused her to turn her head, gasping sharply as she saw molded bodies staggering her way. She wiped her eyes on her dirty arm and struggled to get up, her legs wobbling as she got to her feet. She continued to sniffle and wipe her eyes as she picked her bags back up, breaking out into a steady sprint as she fled away from the oncoming walkers.

The sun was starting to set when she finally found the river. After hours of wandering aimlessly through the woods, she let out an audible “Thank god!” to the sky and dropped all of her stuff, running straight to the water and splashing it on her dirty face. It felt amazing on her skin, so cool and refreshing. She washed her face and arms before stopping to look around. Nothing. Not a single animal. Just the sound of rushing water and trees.

She set up camp further down the river, walking along the bank and stopping once the bank was high enough above her. She looked up at the elevated edge, nodding in satisfaction before setting up a fence-line made of twine, sticks, and empty cans.

After getting situated, she opened up a can of ravioli and quietly ate, listening to all the sounds of nature through the dark. Frogs, crickets, the water. All of it was interesting, but she was listening closely for something else. Not for groaning or hissing, or even growling. She was listening for that sound, that sweet, drawn out sound that said “Where are you?” hidden in the form of a howl.

If the wolves were alive and separated, they would be looking for each other. Wolves always let their pack know where they were.

She shut her eyes and listened closely, trying her hardest to tune out the river and the crickets. She needed to hear that howl. She needed to know that someone was out there, alive and okay. She need to know that she wasn't alone in this hell-hole. She begged with God, pleaded with him. Please, just let her hear it, even if for a second. She needed to hear it.

Unfortunately, she went to sleep that night with tears in her eyes, dreaming of her howling wolf children. Dreaming of that long, drawn out song on the wind that let her know where her babies were.

Little did she know that the sound on the wind was all too real, and while she slept, her children were calling for their mother to come find them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Kei sat on the rocks with her feet soaking in the river, her knees brought up to her chest. She sat there with her eyes closed, trying to calm her nerves and clear her mind. She had to think clearly. She needed to think of what to do next. Everyone was split up, possibly dead, maybe on the move to somewhere else. She couldn't stay out here. She needed to find shelter. Proper shelter. She needed to make a home for herself, however temporary it was.

“Home,” She muttered to herself. She needed a home.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the water, little ripples dimly glittering with the morning light. She stared at it for a while, just watching as the water gently maneuvered around her ankles and continued to flow downstream. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, somehow managing to finding a sense of calmness once she thought of the water. Water always managed to find it's way around whatever stood in it's path, and so would she. She could overcome this. She could make it.

She opened her eyes again and got up off the ground, carefully stepping out of the water and back over to her small camp. She took down the perimeter and packed up her things, stopping herself as she was about to put her fingers to her lips to whistle. It was no use now. She knew that. Instead she let her hand fall to her side and stepped forward, following the rocky path along the riverside.

* * *

 

He listened closely through the thrumming. Soft, gutteral moans and hisses. The sound of shoes scraping heavily across the pavement, and bodies knocking into one another. He peeked over the corner and watched as they all stumbled along, drawn towards the generator in the garage just a few houses away. Walkers all mindlessly marched along towards the noise, and with their backs turned, Sen scurried across and entered the first house.

He kept his hand on his bo-staff as he moved through the house, his footsteps relatively quiet as he searched through the kitchen and the first floor bathroom. No such luck.

He made his way upstairs and carefully opened up the bedroom doors, going through each one and only finding the usual like clothing and bedding. He quietly stepped down the hall and started twisting the knob on another door, rolling his eyes when he immediately heard the hissing. He reached in back of him and gripped his staff as he kicked the door open with his foot. Right as he did so, he whipped his weapon out and brought it down hard on the body that came lunging towards him. He managed to crack the creature in the shoulder, stopping it for only a second before it came snarling at him again. He took a few steps back and raised his staff, letting out a grunt as he brought it down hard onto the walker's skull. He winced as the blood flecked his face, his expression turning sour as the body fell with a hard thud. He wiped his face and looked down at the creature. He was younger, judging by the ripped jeans and the tattered skate shoes. When he entered the room he found it littered with posters, old snowboarding magazines, cracked video game discs and empty, moldy Chinese food cartons. There was a PlayStation 3 hidden in the cabinet below his flat-screen that was bolted to the wall. Seeing it made Sen smile, and feel terribly nostalgic. How many late nights he stayed up, fueled by energy drinks and cheap junk food, talking trash to strangers on Xbox Live. How many friends he had made, and now lost, he thought. Maybe this kid was even one of them.

He let out a sigh and walked around, looking through drawers and picking out a few spare pieces of clothing for Carl.

After looking through the Teen's room, he went down to the end of the hall and entered the 2nd bathroom. It was still relatively clean minus the dust, and Sen was briefly impressed as he opened up the mirror above the sink. Empty. He opened the cabinets below the sink. Empty.

“Fuck!” He hissed, kicking the cabinet door shut with is foot. He let out a frustrated sigh as he marched over to what he assumed was the Parents' Bedroom. It was spaceous, there was a king sized bed, and there was a bathroom directly across from the walk-in closet. Sen entered the bathroom first, taking a step back when he was shocked to find a decaying body already inside. The image and smell made him gag and turn away for a minute, shutting his eyes as he tried to get the molded, naked body marinating in dirty water and feces out of his mind. He coughed as he pulled his bandana over his nose and mentally screamed for himself not to smell as he turned around. He went back into the bathroom, refusing to look to his left as he made a beeline towards the mirror/medicine cabinet.

He opened it up and let out an audible “Oh thank fuck!” as he reached for the bottles. He carefully read the labels: Accupril, Lexapro, Clarinex, Advil, Tylenol pm. He couldn't find any of the terribly strong stuff, but it was something. Anything to help Rick out with his pain. He grabbed the Advil and the Tylenol and shoved them into his bag, quickly turning and exiting the bathroom without so much as a glance over at the body in the bathtub.

He exited the house through the back and made his way over to the next one by hopping the fence. He tried being as quiet as possible, stealthily moving along through the backyard and up onto the back porch. He cut a hole into the screen window and climbed in, struggling a little at first, but finally managing to get inside. Two walkers were already inside the house waiting, A woman and her husband, both small and not much of a hassle. They'd been trapped in the house for god-knows-how-long, both of them seeming more sluggish than their undead comrades outside. He quickly put them out of their misery, stabbing them both in the skull with his staff. He yanked his weapon back and watched as the two of them fell in sync with each other, hitting the ground with a hard thud. He carefully stepped past their bodies, wiping off the sweat on his forehead as he looked around. He found the kitchen and looked inside all of the cupboards, finding a couple packets of jello and some uncooked boxes of pasta. He checked fridge and the drawers, not finding much until he hit up the pantry in the living room. He opened up the large wooden doors and his mouth dropped. A shelf was still half stocked. Peanut butter and jelly, a couple cans of soup, a can of ravioli, and three cans of beans. He reached in frantically started grabbing for the food, whispering “thank you” up to the heavens as he did so.

After wandering around the house some more, he ended up finding two bathrooms, both of which didn't harbor any strong pain meds. He knew it was a stretch trying to find some, but he was thankful at what he _did_ find so far, considering they only had a bag of uncooked pasta back at the house. Now they at least had some more for the trip a head. If they were planning to keep moving ahead, anyway.

Sen went back downstairs and headed out onto the porch, stopping in his tracks when he saw a pair of walkers pining for him through the broken screen window. The man sighed and lifted up his staff, stepping forward and carefully striking them each in the center of their forehead. Once they were down, he carefully climbed back through the window and made his way down the porch steps. A few walkers had wandered into the backyard and were strangely lingering around a dog house. The man thought nothing of it for a moment, until he heard barking coming from inside the small circle of undead creatures. He stopped and turned towards the dog house, listening as something barked over and over, the walkers all growling and clawing at the small wooden house. Sen looked towards the fence-line for a moment before sighing and turning on his heel, running for the small group that had a dog surrounded on all sides.

After taking out the last walker, Sen dragged the bodies away so he could clear the only opening for the animal. He watched carefully and whistled, a dog with scraggly white fur and a missing right eye coming out with his nose pointed at the air. The animal sniffed lightly and turned it's head in Sen's direction as the man held a hand out to it, tutting and whistling lightly.

“C'mere, boy,” He coaxed, thinking in the back of his head how Shadow and Ame would handle a new addition, “C'mere.”

The dog started making it's way towards him, it's little black nose finally touching the palm of his hand before a loud banging sound caused both of them to jump. The dog let out a sharp whine and bolted off, Sen turning around sharply towards the fence. Walkers had started to pile up a bit, all of then clawing at the wood and gnashing their rotted teeth at him through the spaces. The young Nurse sighed and backtracked the way he came, hopping the neighbor's fences and sneaking around through the back.

 

When he approached the steps to their new (and hopefully temporary) home, he heard a noise. It sounded strange, almost like someone was laughing, maybe crying, he couldn't exactly tell. He frowned as he walked up and looked into the front window, squinting as he tried to peer through the lace white curtains. He noticed there was an unfamiliar body inside, sitting beside Carl on the couch. He couldn't spot Rick anywhere. He quickly went around and entered the house through the back, sloppily climbing his way through the kitchen window. He managed to knock over whatever ornaments sat on the window sill, and once he was half inside, he noticed Rick standing over by the fridge, his eyes wide and his hand gripping his holstered weapon. 

"Help" The nurse grunted, his skinny limbs flailing slightly, like a fish caught on a hook. Rick stepped over and held out his good hand, the nurse taking it and holding tight as he was pulled inside. Once he got in and found his footing, Sen set his bags down on the kitchen floor and sighed, patting the dirt off his jacket and pants. 

"Thanks," He sighed, stopping to look over at the still smirking Leader, "Who's here?" 

He watched as the smile on Rick's face grew wider, his head tilting in the living room's direction. "Go see," 

Sen frowned at him in confusion and slowly started walking over to the living room. He stepped inside and looked over at the couch, watching as Carl laughed and both Shadow and Ame barked in excitment. He noticed an extra tail wagging around over by the couches, his eyes widening as Haru came out and started chasing his brother and father. His mouth instantly dropped, and his eyes immediately went over to the couch as he saw Michonne slowly get up. She looked over at him and smiled, holding out her bony arms as he practically sprinted over and leapt into them. He took her into a tight hug, one that slightly lifted her off the floor and caused her to laugh as he spun her. He buried his face into her shoulder, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to keep himself from tearing up. He just couldn't believe it. Michonne had found them. Someone from their group had found them. If she was alive, maybe the others were too. There was hope. There was a chance that things would work out, that everything would be okay. Those weren't just empty words he said last night. Something to help them get by. It was possible, and the nurse saw that now. Things could really be okay.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall probably thought i was dead. NOOOPE. hahaha.  
> Sorry for the slow updates, lil babies. I've been a busy bee.  
> I got a new job (FINALLY!!) and School's been...weird. hehe. :]  
> I've got a good idea with what i want to do with Kei, and I can't wait to show you all. so stick close!  
> Oh, and i just want to say, thank you SO much to everyone who has commented on this story so far.  
> they seriously fuel me and inspire me and make me feel so much better during my day. thankyouthankyouthankyou <3 xx


	50. After pt. II: Girls & Wolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are over, and I'm officially out for winter break.  
> Honestly, uni was INSANE, holy shit. But i'm glad I'm done.  
> Now I've got a month and a half to focus on this story and hopefully pump out some awesome chapters for you all.  
> Thanks for sticking with me, guys. enjoy! xx

“ _There are wolves,” they would say. “And there are stories about wolves and girls.”_

_Girls in red. All alone in the woods, about to get eaten up..._

 

She watched them carefully. Her eyes flittered along, carefully following their fins as they swam around in the water. They were oblivious to it, the sharp metal end pointed towards their scaly sides, itching to lunge forward and pierce through the fragile, shiny membrane. She drew the arrow back further, the bowstring touching her lips. Her dark eyes followed the fatter fish, watching carefully, calculating, her lungs taking in a small breath before her fingers released the string. She watched as the arrow shot forward with a loud _foom!_ before hitting the water with a small splash, pinning the fish to the rocky floor. She stepped forward and pulled the fish out by the arrow, taking no time to relish in yet another victory in catching food. Instead, she did what she always did: take it to the fire, ate it, and move forward.

She didn't know how long it'd been since she'd last seen her group. Night had been turning into day for some time now, that she knew. She'd become a wanderer and a scavenger, never staying in the same place for too long, always on the look out for whatever scraps of supplies she could find along the way.

After some though, she decided she was leaving Georgia. There was nothing left for her here. She had looked for them. For days on end, she tried looking for them. She looked for a sign, a clue, anything that could lead her to anyone from her old group. There was nothing. Nothing but a burned up prison now overrun with the undead.

There was nothing left for her here.

She'd made it a point to keep walking along the nameless road that seemed to stretch on for miles. The woods were on either side, easy for her to hide in when darkness fell. She'd hum to herself as she walked along, listening to the thrum of her voice and the soft rustle of leaves as a chilly breeze blew by. The weather was changing, she thought. Winter would come, eventually. She would have to find shelter. Some place where she could hole up for a couple months. She let out a sigh. It would be her first winter alone. Completely and utterly alone.

She hugged her jacket close as another chilly wind blew by. She shivered a little, mentally swearing at herself for feeling so cold easily.

“ _Well maybe if ya ate more, this wouldn't be a problem,_ ” Daryl sighed, trudging alongside her with only his crossbow over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes and sighed,

“Shut up,” She started walking faster, the hunter seeming to catch up to her with ease.

“ _Ya need to eat more, Girl,_ ” He pressed, Kei shaking her head and walking even faster.

“Just go away,” She demanded.

“ _Food's more precious than gold out here!_ ” He called after her.

“Just go away and leave me _alone!_ ” She bit, turning around sharply to see him nowhere in sight. She swallowed deeply, screwing her eyes shut as the familiar ache in her heart grew. He wasn't there. He was never there...and god knew if he would ever be again.

She let out a sigh and turned back around, walking forward and suddenly smacking into something hard. She let out a sharp “Ow!” and took a step back, rubbing her nose as she looked at the sign that stood in her path. It was a map of Georgia, plastered on a slab of wood and poorly laminated with saran wrap. Red, green, and blue lines all highlighted the railway paths like veins, and they all led to the gaudy black star in the center. The word TERMINUS was written beside it in big bold letters.

**TERMINUS**

**SANCTUARY FOR ALL**

**COMMUNITY FOR ALL**

**THOSE WHO ARRIVE SURVIVE**

She stared at the bolded words, reading them over and over again her head. Sanctuary for all. Sanctuary. Community. People. Was it for real? Was it still running?

It couldn't be.

It had to be a trap, some kind of sick joke. Sanctuary. Sanctuary was a fantasy nowadays. There was no such thing. It wouldn't last.

“...Bullshit,” She muttered, scoffing and shaking her head as she walked past the sign. There was no _sanctuary for all_. Even if there was, that group would just end up dead like the rest―either by walkers, or plunderers who'd want it for themselves. It wouldn't last. Terminus was a joke.

And, as it would've appeared to the girl, it was a very _consistent_ joke.

As the day went on, she had seen several more signs along the road, all of them practically screaming at her to go. It was like a divine calling, or some form of a nagging itch that wouldn't go away until it was scratched. Terminus. Terminus. Terminus. Every direction she went, she couldn't stop seeing Terminus signs. As her irritation grew, she was half-tempted to start knocking them down when a thought stopped her.

What if that was where her people were?

If they were alive and out in these woods somewhere, they must have stumbled upon these signs. If they'd seen these signs, then there was a chance that they would head over there for sanctuary. They would need sanctuary, shelter, a place to stay. They had Judith after all, and she was far too young to be out here trying to survive in the wild.

“ _Terminus,_ ” she thought to herself, “ _Maybe Daryl would―”_

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard the snapping of twigs from beside her. She gasped and turned sharply, holding up her gun towards the figure slowly stepping out from the treeline. Her eyes narrowed, their walk slow and steady, calculated, _not_ like a walker. Her lips pursed and her nose wrinkled as she slowly started stepping back, keeping her weapon pointed forward towards the sound. She was half-tempted to start growling at whoever was lurking in the trees. It wasn't a friend. They would have come out calling her name. This was a stranger, and this stranger was watching her.

She took another step back before she felt something hard and cold suddenly press up against the back of her skull. She heard a metallic _click_ and felt the barrell of the weapon press further into her head.

“Well well well!” She heard a voice hoot, “Look what we have here! God is sure lookin' down on us today, eh boys?!”

The girl didn't move as more footsteps sounded from the woods. She watched as six more figures emerged and surrounded her. All of them men, all of them pathetic looking, and all of them armed. The lankiest man in the group with wild eyes and a dark, bushy beard came up to her, his expression saying all that it needed to as he pointed his compound bow at her.

“Well holy moly me oh my! What-a- _treat_ ,” He gushed, Kei saying nothing as he licked his bottom lip, “I call claim!”

“Oh, like hell!” The fattest one in the group hollered, the rest of the men chiming in quickly after. Kei said nothing as the men argued around her, her face still contorted into a snarl as she kept her gun pointed at the hunter with a bandana on his head.

“Fellas! Fellas!” The leader suddenly called out, the rest of the men going silent as he shook his head, “Now that ain't no way to talk 'bout a lady, in front of her especially.”

Kei's dark eyes flicked in his direction as he lowered his gun, raising his hands and smiling to show good faith. Kei kept hers still raised as she looked him over. Stocky build, mid 50's, with dark eyes and grey hair that darkened at the tips from sweat. He sported heavy boots and a big dirty jean vest over his baggy dress shirt. He gave off a vibe similar to Merle's and Daryl's―out-doorsy, beer drinking, motorcycle lover. His men all eminated the same vibe, more or less. Although, the leader seemed more about intelligence and cunning, something the girl felt the rest of his group had less of.

“M'name's Joe,” She heard the man introduce. He held a hand over to the man with the compound bow, “That over there is Len. And there's Tony, Lou, Harley, Dan, and Billy.”

“And what we call you, huh sweetheart?” Len asked, Joe quickly holding a hand up to him.

“Quiet, now,” He warned, looking back over at Kei with a sly grin, “Apologies for my friend. He lacks uh... _finnesse_.”

She didn't respond. Instead her dark eyes shifted, looking around at the hunters. Six sets of eyes all staring at her, waiting, licking their chops without even having to move their mouths. She was surrounded. Out-manned and out-gunned.

“What do you want?” She asked, looking back to the leader. She watched as his brows raised and he held his arms out.

“We need people,” He said simply, shrugging his broad shoulders before tossing a hand her way, “You look like you could some as well.”

“More than that,” Billy scoffed.

“I'm fine on my own,” She said firmly, ignoring the larger man's smug gaze.

“Ain't nobody fine on their own, honey,” Len cooed, “S'dangerous out here, 'specially for a lil girl like you.”

“I've seen ya with a sword,” Joe chimed in, bringing her attention back to him, “A few miles back, taking out those walkers on the road. You're quick, precise. We could use that in our group...”

He watched as Kei's dark eyes narrowed, her lips pursing. He nodded his head and took a single step forward.

“Now, yer skeptical, I understand,” He gestured towards the rest of his group, “But these men here won't harm you in any way, I can assure you. Once yer with us, yer one of us.”

Kei opened her mouth to refuse when he chimed in again,

“-But outside the group, honey, I can't guarantee what'll happen to ya,” He said slowly, his dark tone masked in simply stating a fact, “I can't guarantee protection against whatever's out in these woods, ya understand?”

Kei frowned as the men around her shifted, seeming to stand straighter and grip their weapons tighter as they awaited her reply. Her expression turned bitter, sighing heavily in both anger and annoyance as she slowly lowered her weapon. She got what he was saying. She was outnumbered. Out-manned, and out-gunned. She watched as Joe's slimy grin grew wider as he held out his arms.

“A smart choice,” He let out, “Welcome to the family!”

Joe was about to pat her on the shoulder when she flinched and jerked out of the way. The rest of the men kept their weapons pointed at her, watching and as she rolled her eyes and started walking with her new (and most definitely temporary) leader. Right as she passed Len, the man reached forward and grabbed her ass.

“Now, what's say we get ya situated, eh sweetness?”

She spun around sharply and brought her elbow back, whacking him square across the face with a loud _WHAM!_ This caused the others to let out a noise in shock while Joe to let out a howling laugh. Len toppled over onto the pavement, groaning and cradling his nose as blood started gushing out. The hunter named Harley raised his rifle just as Kei turned around sharply to face him, her weapon raised and pointed back at him. She stared at him intently, her expression neutral, yet emanating with high tension. She was on high alert, ready to strike at any given movement.

“Alright! Alright!” Joe hooted, the smile still clear and bright on his face, “Seems this girl's got more bite to her than we thought. Len! Get yer ass up off that dirt, boy. Ya look pathetic!”

Len scrambled to his feet and wiped the blood off on his sleeve. His face kept twisting and twitching, the man clearly trying to keep from tearing up in front of his group. As Joe whistled and the group started walking again, Len was fuming the entire time. His thin lips curled between his teeth as he stared daggers over at Kei. She was gonna get it, he thought. One way or another, he was gonna make her pay.

Kei simply glared at him as they walked along, her eyes narrowing, challenging him to even try and make a move. She would fight him. She would fight every last one of them until there was nothing left. She would fight, and she would win. She was done being helpless.

_There are wolves, they would say._

_And there stories about girls and wolves._

_Girls and wolves._

_Both have sharp teeth._

  
  


“This is just plain unfair an' yew know it, Joe!” Len barked as he rushed up to his leader's side, “I called claim on the bitch first! _Weeks_ ago! Right before she joined us! Now you telling me I ain't allowed to even _look_ at her?!”

“I'm sayin' you ain't allowed to watch her _take a piss_ anymore,” The man corrected, shouldering his rifle as he continued stalking back towards the campsite. Len kept up right beside him, yapping in his ear and stumbling over his own feet.

“Oh come on!” The bow-man pleaded, “I ain't hurtin' nobody, just makin' sure she's safe!"

“You best be using that concern on yourself,” The leader warned, “That girl finds out what you been doing, and I ain't gonna come between you and her again.”

This made the lanky man scoff, his eyes going up to the bridge of his leader's nose. The swelling had gone down significantly, but a nasty scab still remained.

Just as Len was about to bring it up, his words were cut short when heard shifting coming from his right. He looked over and and saw a lanky woman come staggering out from behind a large brush, shouldering both her quiver and bow. Her dark eyes were pointed forward in sheer determination, her walk powerful, like she was a wrecking ball willing to knock anyone over who got in her way.

Len looked over at her and smirked as she brushed past, “Hey girl,”

“Fuck off,” She bit, stepping up to the camp and tossing something dead and furry into the center of the sleeping circle, “I got rabbit today.”

Billy and Harley hooted and whistled in appreciation as Lou got out his skinning knife. While the others huddled around to watch his handiwork, Kei stepped away from the fire pit and over towards Joe, wiping her hands still smeared with blood.

“Any trouble?” He asked, looking her over to make sure there was no damage.

“A couple walkers, nothing I couldn't handle,” She said simply, shoving the wash rag into her back pocket, “They fucked up the deer I had been tracking.”

Joe clicked his tongue and shook his head, a heavy sigh leaving his nostrils as he folded his arms.

“Ya gotta pick up the pace, honey,”

“Too bad we ain't catch that wolf yet!” Lou spoke out, grunting as he tried cutting through the animal's belly. The girl perked up, her eyebrows knitting as she watched the men tend to the fire pit.

“What wolf?”

“Been spottin' tracks everywhere in these woods,” The hunter answered, “A small group o'em are juss runnin' 'round out here somewhere. Been trying to hunt 'em down, cook us up some stew! Or some barbecued wolf off the bone!”

“Mmm-mm!” Len whooped, his southern drawl seeming thicker the happier he got, “That'd make a _mighty fine_ meal! Mighty fine!”

“Could use some of that fur for warmth, too,” Joe added, all the men seeming lost in the fantasy of hunting such an animal. Kei said nothing as they continued to talk about wolf stews and using whatever parts of the animal they could. The wolves were alive, and they were out here somewhere. She had to find them.

“We could even fashion ourselves some jewelry out of their teeth,” Len spoke out, “Like Kei's over there.”

The girl furrowed as all eyes went to her and what dangled off her neck (though Len's eyes were clearly pointed a little lower). It was a simple necklace made of only leather cord and a single wolf's tooth hanging on the end. Joe looked down and eyed it for a minute before smiling. He reached out and took the tooth into his palm, feeling the weight, admiring the shape and feel.

“It is a fine necklace,” He made sure to mention, looking at the girl and smiling that same smile she'd grown to hate, “You buy it off of some poor Red-skinned bastard on the side of the road?”

Kei rolled her eyes and pulled the necklace away from him. She stuffed it back into her shirt and went to her tent without another word. While the others ate and laughed made less than favorable remarks towards each other, Kei shut her eyes and listened. She listened for them every night before bed. Her children. If Lou had been spotting tacks lately, that had to have meant they were alive somewhere. They were alive, she thought, her heart fluttering in her small chest. They were alive and out in the woods, protecting each other, maybe even protecting the rest of her group. Maybe they made it out okay, and maybe they were looking for her too.

The more she thought about it, the more the longing ache started to grow inside her, so much so she couldn't help but sit up straight and look out the mesh window.

And the longer she stared into the woods, the more she realized she couldn't stay here and wait to find out.

She had to go find them.

  
  


Kei sat at the campfire that night with her knees up to her chest. She didn't eat, and she didn't speak a word. It wasn't unusual behavior to the rest of the group. It was all she ever did. Sleep. Hunt. Speak a few words. Judge everyone with that bitter look of hers. They just let her do her thing. She brought back good game every night, so who were they to argue if she chose to be frigid?

While Billy bragged about his hunting excursions up in the mountains, Kei kept her eyes on the fire. She paid no attention to the more-than-likely glorified details of hunts and kills. Her mind was elsewhere, and the man across from her could tell.

“You wanna tell us what's wrong, girl?”

The men all stopped their conversation. The girl's eyes flicked up to the leader, her expression blank as he scraped up more beans from the bottom of the can in his hand. He pointed his fork in her direction,

“You got the expression of a thinker on yer face,” He mentioned, consuming the last of his meal before carelessly tossing the can over his shoulder. He leaned forward, his eyes intent as a smug grin stretched on his face. “Yer plannin' somethin'.”

She didn't answer. The leader chuckled and sat up a little straighter, holding his arms out towards the rest of his men,

“Care to share with the class?” He asked out, looking back at the girl as she continued to remain silent, “We ain't one to keep secrets here, Girl, you know that.”

Billy leaned over in his seat, smiling a less than favorable, cavity ridden smile as he hissed to her ear, “ _Them's the rules,_ ”

“Shut the hell up,” She bit out, her sharp tone making the stout man jump.

“Billy's right now, honey, that _is_ the rule,” Joe chimed in before the man could get a word out, “We don't keep secrets here. They're as bad as lies.”

His tone of voice changed at the end of his sentence, and it made Kei's insides burn and twist. Lies. This group hated liars. She'd seen what happened when a man bothered to try and lie to Joe. They were taught a lesson, a lesson that often cost a split-lip or a black eye or a tooth or two. They wouldn't hesitate to teach her a lesson far worse, she was sure. It didn't matter if she was a woman. A liar was a liar.

“I'm thinking of leaving,” She answered, the smug grin on her leader's face faltering before falling to a thin line between pursed lips. The rest of the men remained silent, their eyes pointing over to Joe as his stared firmly into Kei's.

“We ain't good enough for ya?”

An airy scoff escaped through her nostrils.

“Honestly? No, you're not. Not even remotely." 

“You betta watch your mouth!” Lou bit.

“Now, now! Let the girl say her piece!” Joe spoke, watching the ghost of a smirk flash across the girl's face.

“You're all disgusting, and greedy, and while you pretend that there's order with all these so-called 'rules' you all go by, you're really just trying to excuse yourselves for being the low-lifes that you are,” Her eyes looked over to the face of each member, heat and anger was radiating from them, fueling her and the words that kept pouring out of her mouth, “You all were probably shitty people before the turn, and now that things have gone to shit, you're now in your element. The horseflies in the shit-pile, so to speak.”

She stopped to watch as Billy's heavy breathing grew ragged and harsh. Len's lips pursed and Lou's nostril's flared. She was surrounded by clenched fists and jaws, a circle of hounds just on the edge of their leash. They all looked to Joe for the answer. Attack. Bite. Kill. Teach her a lesson. They all waited to hear that symphonic mix of words to tell them they were allowed to go to town on this bitch―this force who dared to abuse their hospitality and insult them all at the same time.

But when Joe opened his mouth, the most unexpected thing came out.

It was a laugh. And not a light one either. It was heavy and loud, and sounded so genuine it threw the girl and everyone around her off.

“That's the most i've heard you say in weeks!” He hollered, slapping his thigh and laughing even harder than before. The rest of the men were lost, letting out light and awkward chuckles as they looked to each other in confusion. Joe just got up out of his seat and kept on, laughing and hollering all the way back to his sleeping spot.

“If you wanna leave then go right on ahead, Girl!” He chirped, the laugh still clear in his voice, “The hell if I care! Good luck to ya!”

Kei still stayed by the fire, long after all the other men eyed her and muttered sick threats under their rancid breath before leaving for bed. She just kept her eyes on the glowing red embers, her thoughts racing before slowing to a stop at the familiar sound of howling in the air. It was faint, but it was beautiful, and it was the most precious thing she'd been given since the prison. More howls started to meld in, some more distant than the others. She didn't move from her spot as they continued to call for each other. Instead she just closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees, a thankful smile forming on her face.

  
  


The scent of smoke was still in the morning air when she left the camp site with her things. She didn't bother thanking Joe or saying goodbye. You only did those things for people you cared about. The only thing she regretted was not waiting until they woke up so she could flip them all off before she left.

This was better though, safer. She didn't know what would happen if she left while they were away. Would they have stopped her? Kept her hostage like the Iron Horsemen did? She wasn't going to wait until sun-up to find out. And she was thankful she left when she did.

The woods looked different in the early morning. Prettier. With the cool air and the trees and the clear sky, the sun casting a pretty shadow on everything. It was hard to believe that undead creatures occasionally wandered around in here. How could something so...scary tarnish such a pretty scene.

She wasn't left with much time to revel in it's beauty. The minute she heard a tree branch snap behind her, she was thrust back into reality. As picturesque as it was, this was still the woods. There was danger here, and it would tear her apart if she wasn't careful.

The minute she heard another branch snap, the girl turned around sharply and raised her gun, pointing it over at a familiar figure holding a hunter's bow. Len stepped out from the behind the brush, his steps careful and light, and the grin on his face more smug-looking than ever.

“Easy now, girl,” He warned, “Don't do anythin' stupid now...”

“What do you want?”

“Here to collect my fee for the hospitality,” He answered, “Food, shelter, protection...You've wracked up quite a debt.”

“Fuck off,” She bit,

“Or what, you'll shoot me?” He let out a scoff, his eyes pointing down to her handgun, “How quick can ya pull that there trigger? Faster than I can shoot ya in the eyeball, ya think?”

The girl didn't answer. She watched as Len just shrugged and raised his brows.

“Don't seem worth losin' an eye over,” He opined, “I'm givin' you a choice girl, live or die. It's simple as tha—”

 _Clickclickclick_. Kei pullled the trigger over and over, furrowing as no bullets came flying out. She looked over at Len as he smiled and chuckled his greasy head off, shaking his head in the process.

“Stupid bit,” He laughed, “Did yer dumb ass really not even _bother_ to check if it was loaded?!”

“Shut up,” She growled.

“That just says 'spoiled', right there,” He went on, “Bet you had yer dead boyfriend load all yer weapons for ya. What was his name again?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” She barked.

“Well WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKIN' MAKE ME!” He barked back, his voice so loud it made the girl flinch, “I'm the one holdin' the weapon to ya goddamned head, so _you_ do what I say!!”

Kei bit her lip and snarled furiously at the man with the bow, watching as he liked his lips and gestured towards the gun.

“Now you just put that gun down,” He demanded, his eyes on the barrel, “Come on, girl. Put it all down.”

She stood firm for a second, her eyes narrowing as her lips curled between her teeth. Her expression was bitter as she shook her head, and slowly she lowered her weapon before dropping it. The minute her gun and bags hit the dirt floor, Len shot forward like a bolt of lightening, running right up to her and dropping his bow before pinning her up against the tree. The girl didn't move. She only bothered to move her face away as he started assaulting her skin with frantic kisses.

“I thought you weren't supposed to attack your own,” She muttered, her tone as neutral as her expression.

“You ain't in our group anymore,” He breathed, licking his lips as his hands when under her shirt, “Which means, I can do whatever I want to that tight lil body a y―”

Before he even had time to finish, Kei brought her knee up to his stomach, and then her elbow down to his back as he hunched over,

“You piece of shit!” She grit, hitting him in the back again, “You should have just left! Me! Alone!”

She kicked him in the shin and watched as he finally gave out and toppled over onto the forest floor. He groaned and looked up at her with horrified eyes as she stared down at him with fire and hatred. She got down on one knee and leaned in real close to his face, making sure their eyes were locked, and that her bitter expression was the only thing he could see.

“And don't think I didn't know that you've been watching me piss, you sick son of a bitch,”

She quickly stood back up and brought her leg forward, kicking him square in the face as hard as she could.

  
  


Kei picked up her gun and placed it back into her holster without a word. She didn't say anything as Len writhed around in the dirt floor behind her, swearing and muttering through swollen, bloodied lips that he would get his revenge on her. She didn't say anything. She just picked up her bags, and kept moving forward. After this little encounter, she figured anywhere was better than with this group.

She didn't keep to roads, nor did she follow along the river bank. Instead, she followed the hand drawn maps planted alongside the train tracks. It was going to be a long walk, she figured, but Terminus was on the other end. And hopefully, the girl thought to herself, the rest of her group would be there as well.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah. Ooooh yeah. That's right, Kei's heading to Terminus.   
> Will she be the first? What's gonna happen when she gets there? Stick around to find out! ^.^  
> p.s. Season 5 was freaking--I don't even know, it was insaaaannne omg. I can't. I can't.  
> I got some good ideas out of it though. It's gonna be great, trust me.  
> pps: kudos for MARVEL comics references WOOOOOOO!!! Anybody catch it? ;)


	51. Claimed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That's why I showed you this,” He said, staring directly in her eyes, “I showed you this because I need to know I can trust you. And you need to know you can trust me. Terminus is all about trust. It's absolutely everything. It's life or death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall probably thought i was dead lol.  
> apologies for the long delay, i've been juggling work and school  
> and jotting down ideas for how i want season 5 to play out.  
> thank you all for the kind comments, and kudos too! goodness.  
> here's a long chapter for you all. enjoy, my sweet lil cinnamon rolls c:  
> \- xx

Sen opened his eyes when he heard laughter coming from downstairs. It was breif, and slightly muffled through the floorboards, but he definitely heard it. It sounded like Carl. He laughed while Haru, Shadow, and Ame barked and roughoused around the house. The man groaned. This was his third time being woken up in the middle of sleeping. It was one giant noise fest, and it was starting to get real annoying real quick. He shut his eyes tight and pulled the pillow over his head, trying to block out all the noise that went on downstairs.

It wasn't long before he dozed off again for the fourth time, finally drifting into that stage of sleep where he felt completely and utterly relaxed. He dreamt of things in small flashes; rocks being tossed into clear water, bare feet running across the grass, fingertips grazing across the roughness of the tree bark. He dreamt of her smile that grew bigger when she laughed, the one that made her nose wrinkle and showed off her teeth. He dreamt of the long walks they'd have after school let out―The bus rides and train rides home when she'd rest her head on his shoulder and fall asleep. Anyone on the outside would have found it cute, but honestly, it was hilariously obnoxious how he'd have to struggle against her body weight so he wouldn't topple over.

He missed all those little things.

but most of all, he missed...

 

When he woke up again, he found it eerily quiet. He slowly sat up in bed and looked around with heavy-lidded eyes. Nothing. No wolves, no laughter, not even so much as the sound of walkers. It was just quiet.

He went and grabbed his pack of cigarettes off the nightstand before officially getting up, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he left the room and shuffled down the hallway. The house was warm with the Georgia heat already starting to rise, and the morning sun hitting every practically surface. It felt nice, especially while being half awake.

The young nurse made his way downstairs and noticed that the couch and the floor were free of blankets and pillows. He frowned and turned towards the kitchen.

“Rick?” He called out, making his way over there and finding it empty. Where the hell did they go?

He went back over to the living room and looked over by the fireplace. Michonne's bag was still here, still packed with her shirt and whatever supplies she had brought with her. He frowned for a few good seconds before looking over to the window when he saw something shift. He walked up and carefully pulled the curtain aside, watching as Carl and Michonne started walking off down the street with empty bags over their shoulders. Just then, the front door opened up and Rick stepped back inside, Sen looking over at him with a confused face,

“Are they going on a run?”

“Yeah,” The sheriff aid simply, shutting the door behind him, “We're gonna hole up here for a few more days, just until we figure things out.” The young nurse watched as Rick stepped around to the other of the couch and started pushing it forward with his good arm. He immediately rushed over to help out. Together they pushed the thing forward with ease, the couch slamming up against the front door and barricading themselves in once more. Rick grunted and briefly gripped his aching side as he took a seat on the arm of the sofa. He took a small break before getting up again, following Sen into the kitchen,

“Thought I could let you sleep in for a few more hours,” He remarked, leaning against kitchen counter as Sen ambled around searching through the cabinets.

“That was sweet of you, considering you all being so loud as hell, ” He scoffed, opening up a cupboard and sighing at the mess inside. Nothing but old dirty paper towels and empty cans. He shut the door and turned around, facing his leader with a half-sleepy smile on his face. Rick smiled back and scoffed, his eyes falling to the floor as the young nurse walked up and sat beside him up on the counter.

“So what's the plan?” He asked, casually pulling out a cigarette and placing it between his lips. Rick looked over at him, watching as he dug through his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He then looked away and shook his head,

“I don't know,” He replied honestly, shifting in place before looking back at the nurse, “Honestly...I think we should keep moving.”

The lanky nurse frowned and looked up from his cigarette as he lit it, taking a small puff and breathing in sharply before raising his head and exhaling.

“Are you serious?” He asked, looking over at Rick as the man looked away, “I mean...Aren't we going to at least _try_ to look for the others?”

No answer. The leader just kept looking forward, out the dirtied window that sat across the kitchen.

“Rick...Kei and the others might still be out there,”

The nurse watched as Rick dipped his head and shook it.

“Sen―”

“Daryl might still be out there,” He argued, “Glenn, Maggie, Beth! We can't just leave―”

“Well where do you expect we look, huh?!” The leader bit, “Back at the prison?!”

“They could still be alive!” Sen snapped.

“And they might not be!” Rick barked back, “Alive or not, either way, they're long gone! Probably even dead by no―”

Before he could even finish that sentence, Sen pushed himself off the counter and walked right out of the kitchen. The leader bit his cheek, growling in his throat before following after him,

“Sen―”

“Fuck off,” He bit, taking a sharp right and heading up the stairs. Rick continued after him, going up the steps and following him all the way to the bedroom.

“Sen, I'm sorry, I―”

Before the leader could step inside, Sen turned around sharply and slammed the door in his face, locking it soon after. The leader didn't budge. Not for some time. He just stood outside the doorway, his lips pursing and his stomach twisting a mix of emotions came over him. Anger, sadness, frustration, loss. He knew the man on the other side of the door was feeling it too―the sounds of his heavy, frustrated breathing along with the light, steady banging of his head ringing through the wood. The sheriff pressed his head against the doorway and shut his eyes, suddenly wishing he could walk right through it and take the man into his arms.

“...I'm sorry,” He heard a muffled voice say through the wood. Rick opened his eyes and looked forward, listening as he heard a sharp sniffle and a cough, “I-I know it's been hard for you, I just...It's just really fucking hard, you know?...Losing everything like that...”

The leader shut his eyes tighter, trying not to think of the bloody baby seat back at the prison.

“After everything that's happened,” He heard Sen whimper, “It's all just...”

“....I know,” The leader spoke, his tired voice falling into a hoarse whisper, “I know...It's been hard for all of us.”

He suddenly heard the lock snap and the door knob creak as it twisted, the door suddenly opening up to reveal the lanky nurse sniffling and quickly wiping his eyes. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and took a step back, Rick stepping inside and stopping in the middle of the room. Sen shut the door behind him and made his way over to his leader, lazily resting his arms on the sheriff's shoulders as he wrapped them around his bare waist. The young nurse let out a small sigh through his nose and leaned in, the two of them touching foreheads and smiling weakly. Sen's dark eyes flitted down to Rick's shirt, all tattered and riddled with holes and blood stains.

“You look like shit, you know that?” He whispered, earning an airy laugh and a crooked smile from the man across from him.

“Yeah,” He muttered, “Sorry I didn't have time to go clothes shopping while we were on the run.”

The lanky man chuckled and shook his head, gently taking Rick by the buttons of his shirt and guiding him over to the drawer, “Come on, smartass.”

The two of them staggered over to the dresser drawer and Sen carefully undid the buttons, gently pulling at the ragged piece of cloth and slipping it off the leader's body. The man shifted around, carefully moving his arms as they still slightly ached. The air was warm against his skin, and he sighed in slight relief of being free from the dirty, tattered thing he was wearing.

A shiver suddenly ran through him and his eyes fluttered down to Sen's hand, the man's thumb gently brushing over the faded mark just under his rib. The young nurse peered at it curiously,

“You were shot?”

The sheriff looked down and nodded,

“A while ago,” He answered, “Before things went to shit. I was backing up a squad from the neighboring county, standing off against a couple of armed suspects...”

He looked down at the scar, the memory of bullets flying still clear in his mind. He could see the dust rising up in the air, clouding his vision as he tried to aim at the shooters behind the overturned car. He'd never forget their faces, or how his co-workers Leon Bassett and Lambert Kendall were all optimistic about getting their own cop show. It all happened so fast―How he was standing firm one minute, and the next he was on the ground, looking up at his best friend and partner as they tried to keep him alive.

“...Turns out there was a third guy there,” He went on to say, “Managed to hit me where my vest couldn't protect me...”

“That's when you fell into a coma?” Sen asked, Rick nodding and gesturing towards his surroundings,

“And then I woke up to all this.”

“Jesus,” He breathed, shaking his head and leaning into the sheriff's shoulder, “That must've been so scary...”

He briefly rested his head onto his leader's shoulder and shut his eyes, relishing in the feel of his good hand coming up and running through is hair. He listened closely to the sound of his breathing, the pattering of his heart, all the vital signs of life, all of it music to his ears.

“...You need a haircut,” He heard the leader say.

“Oh fuck you!” He chirped out, pulling away and failing to look offended as the leader threw his head back and laughed. Sen pointed directly to his beard, “You're one to talk, buddy. It looks like a raccoon fucking latched itself to your face.”

The sheriff let out another laugh and reached out, pulling the man back to him and holding him close by the hips. The nurse didn't falter. Instead he looked Rick dead in the eye, an expression on his face that the leader couldn't help but find cute.

“Shave it off,” He demanded.

The leader shook his head, the smile still clear on his face. He leaned in and attempted to kiss him on the lips, but Sen leaned back and swatted the guy on the shoulder,

“Shave it!” He pressed again, Rick pulling him in and kissing him on the cheek,

“Make me,” He mumbled into his skin. The nurse stifled a small smile, chuckling at the feel of his facial hair tickling against his skin.

“I'll make you,” He assured. Rick scoffed and let out a small “Hmmm?” He was just about to answer, but was cut off when Rick suddenly dipped his head and kissed him square on mouth. The nurse flinched a bit, smiling into the kiss as Rick reached up and gently cupped the back of his head, holding him close.

"Stop," The nurse whispered, smiling as Rick pecked him on the lips.

"'kay," He agreed simply before kissing him again. Sen stifled a small laugh before moaning a little when Rick gently traced his lips with his tongue. The nurse flicked his tongue lightly against the cop's, making the man groan and tighten his arms around him.

He groaned in frustration, pulling his mouth from Sen's to trail a path across his cheek to his neck. He gently brushed his nose against the skin of his neck and nuzzled up to his ear, pressing his lips on the man's earlobe and tracing the outline of it with his tongue. His grip on the young man's waist grew tight as the nurse let out a soft ' _Ungh'_ under his breath. Hearing the little noises and sighs he made forced the sherriff to bite his lip, trying hard not to smile and failing horribly.

“You like that?” He asked, smiling as he pecked the nurse's lips. He let out a small “hm” in approval, carefully gripping the back of the sheriff's neck to deepen the kiss. He could feel the man grinding against him, the friction sending the most delicious jolt through his stomach. The leader broke away to groan, his mouth parting as he looked down at their hips grinding together.

“Shit,” he hissed, bringing his head up and kissing him again. His movements became frantic, one minute fumbling with his belt, and the next reaching for Sen's shirt. He grabbed the hem as Sen raised arms and helped pull it up over his head. He quickly tossed the shirt aside and pulled the man close to his arms again, planting a kiss on his shoulder, relishing in the feel of his warm skin against his own.

He ran his hands up and down the nurse's back as they kissed, tracing them lightly down his spine, feeling the smooth skin and muscle. His fingertips fluttered across his lower stomach and went down to the belt, finally undoing the buckle and the zipper. He kept his eyes on him the whole time, the eye contact sending shivers down the sherrif's spine and fire racing through his veins. It was becoming too much, the stifling heat, the electrifying feeling of him being so close. He needed more of him, every part, every inch of skin and body and soul. He could feel all logic slowly leaving his brain, and it wasn't long before it shut down and just acted on instinct.

He gently pushed Sen's hands away and stepped forward, the nurse raising his brows in surprise when he stepped back and felt the back of his legs hit the the edge of the bed. He felt Rick's hands gently nudge him and he teetered over, falling over onto the mattress with a soft thud. The leader carefully climbed up on top of him before gripping his side, wincing briefly before scoffing and carefully laying down on the mattress. Sen rolled over on his side and pulled the sheriff to him, smiling and recapturing his lips. As their kissing became more and more heated, the young nurse suddenly realized something. And that something couldn't help but make him stop and audibly sigh in frustration. Rick stopped and broke away to look up at him.

“What?”

The nurse sighed, shaking his head and assuring it was nothing before leaning back down. Rick turned his head away slightly, avoiding the kiss and prodding the man further.

“No really, what is it?” He asked, curiosity getting the best of him now that Sen brought it up. The dark haired man sighed and let his head fall onto his shoulder, shifting to nuzzle and kiss the crook of his neck.

“Nothing,” He repeated, “It's nothing. I just....I remembered that we don't have any condoms.” The leader listened as the man beside him groaned like a child in his throat. The whole thing made him smile faintly and he turned his head, kissing the man's cheek before pressing his lips up against his ear.

“We don't need 'em,” He whispered.

Sen immediately sat up a little and looked down at him, a straight frown on his face.

“I'm not doing it without―”

“No no no, I didn't mean it like that,” Rick chuckled, pulling the man back down and kissing the side of his head, “I mean we don't need 'em for this.”

Sen's mouth immediately dropped as a hand slid down his stomach and got between them, snaking its way past the waistband of his boxers. His breathing started to falter, his eyes fluttering shut as the man under him started slowly palming his growing erection. The leader's eyes stayed locked on Sen's expression as he continued his movements, his breathing in labored pants as he wrapped his fingers around him and started pumping. He watched closely as his jaw dropped and his breath came out in a gasp before melding into a whimper _. He_ bucked his bony hips helplessly against his palm, his head dropping and dipping down to kiss him square on the lips. In a matter of moments, Sen was coming completely undone, curse words flying from his lips as he came. The leader watched as his muscles tensed up, his body shaking momentarily before going limp on top of him. His head fell into Rick's shoulder, his breathing heavy, coming out in slow sated sighs. His hand traveled up to Rick's hair, his fingers gently running through his curls, assuring him he was still there in the moment with him. He shifted his head and kissed him on the mouth, letting out a small hum in appreciation. He slowly broke away to look at him, smiling before he shifted and carefully slinked his way on top. Rick chuckled as the man leaned down and planted a light kiss on his nose before going to his lips. He broke away slowly to look down at him.

“Your turn,” He muttered, giving him an impish grin as he reached down carefully undid his belt. The leader bit his lip and smiled as he leaned down and kissed him again. This one was slower, and more sweeter and intoxicating than the last. His kisses traveled further and further down, licking and biting and marking his naked skin along the way.

* * *

 

“Can I ask you something?” Sen lifted his head and rested his chin on Rick's chest, looking up at the leader as he closed his eyes and nodded.

“The other night,” He explained, “Carl mentioned a guy named Shane.”

Rick didn't budge. He just continued running his fingers along the skin of of his shoulder, not saying anything as Sen gently ran his fingers along his side. The dark haired man shifted and rested his ear up against the man's, listening to the steady patter of his heart.

“Who was he?” He asked, his question falling onto silence as the two of them laid there, his leader still not saying a word. The young nurse didn't press him any further, instead just shutting his eyes and listening closely to the pattering of Rick's heart.

“...He was my friend,” He heard the man under him answer after some time. Sen shifted and looked back up at him, the leader's eyes glued to the ceiling, “He was with us in Atlanta, after the turn...”

Rick shut his eyes and brought his hand back up to the bridge of his nose, pinching it as he tried to avoid the oncoming headache, and the images reeling in his mind. He tried to remember the Shane that existed before the turn. His best friend, his partner, the man who was as loyal to him on all fronts as he was in return. He tried not to think of the Shane that questioned him, that tried to have him killed, that tried to take away his whole family. He didn't want to think about that Shane, or what he had to do to stop him in the end.

“I knew him long before that,” He went on to say, “He was my partner back in King County...We always did everything together, ever since high school.”

The nurse nodded in understanding, smiling faintly at trying to picture a high school aged Rick. It was nice to hear that he had found his best friend after everything went to shit, much like he himself had Kei.

But the difference was that Kei was still with him.

Shane wasn't around anymore.

“What happened to him?” He asked, immediately noticing Rick stop his gentle touch across his skin. Still, he kept his eyes on his leader, Rick's eyes still on the ceiling. “Did a walker get him?”

No answer. The man immediately felt a pang of regret and shook his head, leaning down and kissing him on the shoulder, “I'm sorry, I shouldn't be asking.” Instead, he pulled the blankets up and huddled close to him, shutting his eyes and prepping himself for sleep. “I'll stop.”

“...I killed him,” He admitted quietly, Sen opening his eyes to find the sheriff looking right at him. His expression was oddly neutral, not showing worry or sadness. He looked...different, in what way, the nurse couldn't tell. In response, he simply scooted up and carefully rested his head on the leader's shoulder, not saying a word as he felt a hand slowly snake it's way into his hair and gently toy with the roots. They stared at each other for some time, the air showing no signs of tension, but an odd sense of peacefulness in it's place. Rick waited for him to react, his eyes searching the man's striking face. He didn't look worried, or confused, or even slightly frightened. He didn't react.

He just laid there, his dark eyes roaming over, searching for something in the leader's own face.

Rick sighed lightly and shifted, looking back up at the ceiling while avoiding Sen's intense stare. He kept his good hand latched to his scalp, his fingers gently inching along through his hair as he spoke up again,

“He lost himself, not long after the turn,” He mentioned, “In the end, it was gonna be me or him, for a number of reasons. So I chose...”

The sound of the gunshot going off as he jammed the knife into his best friend's stomach echoed in his mind. It still made his heart race and his stomach twist and ache. The sight of him, the way his best friend looked at him, choking on his own words mixed with blood, he still didn't know what he was trying to say. All he knew was that it hurt. Thinking about it hurt. And he couldn't bare to think about it any more.

He took a much needed breath and let it out in a shaky sigh.

“I can't explain why to you,” He confessed, shifting to look down at the man beside him, “Not right now...”

He watched as Sen licked his lips lightly and nodded, his eyes briefly falling to the mattress before looking back at him. He shifted closer and leaned over, pecking him on the lips before laying back down on the pillow.

“Get some sleep, okay?” He carefully pecked him on the nose,“I'm going out for a smoke. I'll be back.”

The leader nodded without a word and shut his eyes as a pair of lips planted themselves on his own. The hurt he felt earlier quickly melded away, replaced with that familiar sensation of butterflies in his stomach. The feeling was good, and so welcome it made him smile faintly in relief as the man gently pulled away to quickly peck his forehead. As Sen quietly put his shirt back on and slid out of bed, the leader shifted into a more comfortable position and grabbed the book resting beside him on the nightstand. His eyes followed the lanky man as he padded over to the front door. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look back at him.

“You don't have to explain it to me, by the way,” He mentioned suddenly, “I know you did it because you had to. Not because you wanted to.”

The leader looked down to the front of the room, watching the man in the doorway as he smiled a faint, crooked smile.

“I still care about you, regardless of your past.”

Rick felt the butterflies in his stomach grow worse, his stomach twisting and aching, but in a good way. A way that made his heart and mind race, and a feeling that he hadn't felt in the longest time rise within him.

He bit his lip, trying to hold back a grin as he carefully sat up in bed. He tried keep his voice from sounding too excited as he looked over at the man in the doorway.

“Can you c'mere for a sec?”

Sen looked over at him quizzically, the leader gesturing lightly for him to come over. He stepped away from the door and went over to Rick's side of the bed, giving him a confused look as he sat down on the edge of the mattress. The sheriff reached over and gently tugged at his arm, a faint hint of mischievousness on his face,

“Closer,” He instructed.

The nurse smiled, knowing full well what was happening as as he scooted over. He leaned in and shut his eyes as Rick give him another kiss. It wasn't a quick kiss, nor was it a deep and passionate one, but it was intimate. Steady, and full of intimacy. Full of everything the leader wanted to say to him in that very moment.

And the nurse understood fully, gently smiling and rubbing his nose with Rick's as they broke apart.

“I care about you, too,” He heard the leader whisper.

* * *

 

She listened to the crackle of dead leaves under her boots, her feet dragging along the forest floor. Her eyes were glued to the dirt, trying hard to find any remaining prints. But no matter how hard she looked, there were none to be found. She started wondering if they even got this far, or if they turned somewhere and went off into the woods.

She stopped walking and looked around, the question plaguing her mind and tearing her in two different directions. One was towards Terminus, and the other was off the tracks and back into the woods. It was a long shot for trying to search for them now, and Sanctuary was just up ahead. If Sanctuary was still standing, that was. But she could still hear the wolves howling at night. Wherever they were, they were still somewhere in these woods. She would find them eventually, they were so active.

Perhaps it was good to get settled first. To recharge a bit...

She sighed and turned back around, continuing on down the tracks towards Terminus. She tried to occupy herself as she made the journey, carefully balancing herself as she walked along the rails like a gymnast on a balance beam. There were a few walkers here and there along the way, but as she drew closer and closer to the end of the line, she noticed the walkers and the terminus signs were growing scarce. This made her frown with suspicion, and her wariness only heightened when she saw two men further down on the railroad. Two men, looking relatively around the same age, chattering with each other as the shorter one hammered a sign to a pole. She quickly drew her out her bow and stepped forward, not making a sound as the two of them kept working. They were clearly oblivious to her presence. It wasn't until the shorter guy had accidentally dropped his hammer that he finally looked in her direction. After picking it up, he quickly said something to the taller guy, and the taller one turned around as well. When he did, he didn't seem the least bit phased by her.

“Hi there!” He greeted, smiling brightly as she walked up with her arrow still pointed at them. He quickly wiped his hands on his dirty jeans before holding one out to her, “I'm Gareth. And this is my brother Alex.”

She didn't take it. Instead, she just eyed him, watching as Alex shifted before shoving his hands back into his pockets.

“We don't bite. We're both residents of Terminus,” He remarked, “I'm guessing you've seen the signs? It's a great place―safe, secure. We can get you cleaned up and fed right quick.”

When she didn't respond, Gareth simply let his hand fall and shrugged a little, smiling and letting out an airy scoff.

“Well, it's nice to meet you regardless, _stranger_ ,” He smiled and looked back at the sign, “We were just fixin' this up for anyone who might be heading this way. Biters just keep on knockin' it over.”

Kei squinted a little, Gareth turning his head to look back at her. His eyes wandered over her dirty clothes and battered skin flecked with walker blood and mud.

“You look like you've been on the road for quite a while,” He remarked, looking back up at her eyes, “We're headin' on back to Terminus. You can follow us, if you like.”

Kei still didn't respond. She was studying him―His relaxed posture, his smile, how he and his brother were alone in the woods, unarmed. Something must have been off.

“Where's your weapons?” She asked him. His brows raised before looking down at his waist. He looked back at her and shrugged, the smile still clear on his face.

“Haven't had a need for one,” He replied honestly, suddenly realizing her cautious behavior, “It's alright. We got scouters all around here in these woods, clearing out any roamers that might be around. We try to make a safe path for people heading this way for sanctuary.”

Made sense, the girl thought. Still, she was a little wary. Two men all alone out in the woods, unarmed...

“You come with us, and you'll see,” Alex remarked, watching as she slowly lowered her bow after some time. She put the arrow back in her quiver and nodded, the young man smiling and heading down the tracks. Kei followed alongside him closely, not saying a word as he and his brother started going on and on about Terminus and everything it had to offer.

When she entered through the rod-iron gates, the outside world seemed to meld into someplace entirely new. Clean pavement free of blood and corpses, laundry hanging from the clothes lines, billowing in the wind. Actual sunflowers and plants growing in the center of the camp. Color, food, life.

She never thought she would see a place like this again. She had to rub her eyes to just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It was almost too good to be true.

Terminus. It really was a sanctuary.

A hand suddenly placed itself on her shoulder and she jerked away out of reflex, Alex jumping slightly in shock. Still, he smiled lightly and pointed over towards the fire pit, a large grill waiting there with large slabs of meat cooking on top. He guided her over to the grill where a stocky woman with rusty gold hair waited for her. She had a slight bohemian look to her, wearing loose, layered clothing and having hair braided to the side. She had a sweet face and appeared quite timid as she flipped the meat, saying very little as Gareth came up to her side and kissed her on the cheek.

“This here is my mom, Mary,” He explained, smiling as his mother, “The original founder of Terminus. Woman's got a heart of gold on her.”

“Oh stop it,” She chuckled, swatting him away before looking at Kei with a smile, “I’m just doing what’s right...Someone’s got to give a little hope in a time like this.”

“And you’re doing a great job, Ma,” Alex gushed, “Oh! You mind fixin’ Kei here a plate?”

“Oh, of course,” She chirped, grabbing a paper plate and piling it on with a few chunks of meat, “You look like you've been on the road for quite a while. You must be famished.”

Kei nodded, furrowing at the odd look Mary was giving her as she handed over the plate. Her blue eyes wandered up and down her frame, almost looking like she was disappointed about something.

“So skinny…” The woman sighed. Gareth suddenly chuckled and pulled his mother close.

“Mother,” He cooed, the smile clear in his voice as he gave her another peck on the cheek, “Be nice.”

Mary then smiled brightly and nodded, her son pulling away to take Kei’s hand and show her around the rest of the camp. As they passed a table, the girl quickly set the plate down and continued to follow him.

* * *

 

Only 4 cigarettes left. What a bummer.

Sen took one out of the box and put it between his lips, flicking on his lighter and pressing the flame against the end. He watched as the tip burned a bright red and he took a slow inhale , the familiar taste of menthol and warm smoke filling his senses. He placed his lighter down next to him as he sat on the porch railing, watching the sky with a dreamy smile on his face. It was oddly serene, just laying there, just thinking of nothing. Feeling only the wind against his skin and listening to the rustle of leaves. It was oddly peaceful.

But that peace was disturbed when he heard laughing.

It wasn't pitched like Michonne's, or even Carl's.

This laugh was rough.

And it belonged to a grown man.

He looked out towards the street. The laughing was getting louder. There were voices, several of them hollering and laughing to themselves. His heart leapt up into his throat as they came into view.

Five men, all of them armed.

“Oh, sh--!” He quickly stubbed out his cigarette and tried clearing away the smoke -filled air, waving his hands around rapidly before leaping over the railing. He kept his body low as he ran around through the back, knowing full well that if those guys saw the front door open, there was a good chance both he and Rick's lives would be over.

He stalked his way up to the patio and started opening up the kitchen window, quietly trying to slip himself inside. He was almost fully through when his foot accidentally knocked over the silverware on the counter. He winced and hissed out a sharp swear.

He could hear them getting louder. They were almost to the house.

He pushed himself off the counter and frantically rushed through to the living room, grabbing his clothing and his rucksack. His heart was racing a mile a minute as he threw on his jacket, his muscles shaking as he tried to grab what he could.

He could hear footsteps on the front porch.

“Shit shit shit!” He hissed to himself, rushing over to the bottom of the stairs. “ _Rick!_ ” He whispered towards the upstairs bedrooms.

There was no answer.

“Rick!” He hissed again. No answer. He swore to himself and took a breath to call him a little louder, but stopped when he heard the doorknob jiggle. He turned around sharply and watched as several bodies hovered around the front, silhouettes walking across the window.

“Oh, F--” He breathed, ducking low as he rushed over to the kitchen and left through the back door. Just as he started quietly shutting the door, he saw the front window shatter open. His eyes widened and he pulled it all the way shut, wincing at the noise it made.

He knelt down and turned to look around at the rest of the patio. His heart and mind started racing a mile a minute as he crept further out and looked up to the second floor. He had to get Rick out of there, that much he knew. Problem was, he couldn't tell which window lead to the bedroom. What's more, all the windows were shut. He let out a frustrated huff. Perfect.

He needed a plan, and quick. They were already in the house. They would find Rick, and god knows what they would do to him.

He had to get him out of there.

“...Fuck it,” He grunted, rushing over to grab a lawn chair and whatever else he could to try and get up onto the second floor. He tried to be as quiet as he could as built a ladder and clambored up onto the lower roof, keeping his body low as he crawled across and carefully peeked into the dirty windows. The first window was to the bedroom belonging to the previous owner's kid. No one inside. He crawled over to the next window, freezing when he heard voices yelling and things being knocked over. His heart leaped up into the his throat and he slowly poked his head out, looking inside to see two men rolling around on the floor. He looked around and recognized the bed and décor at an instant.

This was where Rick was.

His eyes widened and his hand instantly went to his holster, sliding out his gun and cocking it back as the two men continued to fight inside. He peered trough the window, staring down at the back of a head belonging greasy, dark haired man. He currently had a guy locked in a violent chokehold, the sound of gagging and choking ringing in the air. His eyes widened and he looked down at the victim as the greasy guy turned and pinned him down do the floor. The man's build and figure and skin tone was completely different from his leader, and it made him let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't Rick.

He put his gun back into his holster and crawled over to the next window, praying to God that Rick was still inside somewhere alive. He was half-way through sweeping around on the second floor when the window two rooms down suddenly opened up. The nurse froze in place, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. The minute he heard moving and saw something starting to poke out, he quickly scurried back and retreated behind the corner of the house. He screwed his eyes shut as he pressed his forehead against brick, listening past his rapid and fearful heartbeat to the muffled sounds of the men inside talking. He had to focus. He needed to keep it together. They were outnumbered and out gunned, and it was scary as all hell, sure. But it was more than likely that Rick was somewhere trapped inside.

And he had to get him out of there, no matter what.

He took a shaky breath and put his hand on the handle of his gun, gripping it tightly as he pulled it from his holster. He took a few sharp breaths and amped himself up, telling himself that no matter what, he had to get Rick, and nothing was going to stand in his way. He nodded to himself and swallowed his fear before quickly bolting out from behind the corner, keeping his weapon pointed forward. He furrowed when he saw nothing but a pair of hands gripping the edge of the roof before they let go, something falling onto the patio with a soft thud. The nurse slowly leaned over, carefully peeking over the edge and watching as a man in a brown coat stayed hunched over as he started to make a break for the front of the house. When he saw the bandaged hand and the dark jeans and the familiar lanky frame, Sen instantly knew who it was, and his heart almost burst with joy.

He opened his mouth to call after him, but his harsh whisper fell on deaf ears as the man disappeared behind the corner.

* * *

 

He kept himself hidden in the brush, his footsteps quiet, but quick as he maneuvered around. He gripped the Uzi gun tight in his hands, trying to keep focus as he pushed the memory of how he got it to the back of his head. It was kill or be killed, he thought. It was survival of the fittest. The stranger who now laid dead in the bathroom had lost. It was kill or be killed. Fight or die.

And Rick wasn't planning on dying any time soon.

Not by these guys, anyway. Whoever they were.

Given the way they talked about Michonne when they found her shirt in the house---how eagerly they fantasized about all the things they wanted to do to her when she got back...

Rick knew exactly who these people were.

They were plunderers, and the worst kind.

He managed to make to the front of the house, taking refuge next to the foundation just underneath the edge of the front porch. He kept his back pressed against the brick, listening as the front door opened up and someone stepped outside. He could hear a ball being bounced over and over, the steady thump getting louder and louder as the thrower walked up to the railing just above the leader. He could hear the guy sitting down just where the two railings met, occasionally spitting over the railing a couple of times before whistling a chipper tune. Rick furrowed up at him before looking back towards the street, noticing something steadily making it's way down the road.

It was Carl and Michonne, and they were on their way back to the house.

Rick's insides were starting to twist. He felt his heart thumping loudly against his ribcage. He felt trapped, pinned in a position that caused an annoying sense of helplessness, and the need to lash out and get rid of the guy above him so he could get away.

He needed to get away, and he needed to act fast.

He needed to get Carl and Michonne out of there.

“ _Pst._ ” A small voice just barely hissed, the leader almost missing it over the sound of his racing heart. He turned and looked over to the source of the noise, Sen carefully crawling out from behind the brush. A faint smile couldn't help but show itself on Rick's face as a small wave of relief came over him. Sen held up one finger and pointed towards the front porch with the other.

“ _Just one.”_ He mouthed, Rick nodding in response. He felt much more confident now that he had Sen with him. They could take this guy out easily. They could get out of here.

He slowly inched his arm up and reached for the edge of the porch floor, gripping it tightly with one hand as he gripped his weapon with the other. He was ready to pull himself up and leap out and just fire, fire with everything he had. It was kill or be killed . And he wasn't about to be killed. He wouldn't allow himself, or Sen, or anyone else he cared about to get killed today. He would protect them at all costs.

He mustered up as much courage as his could, his anger and adrenaline rising as he was about to move. Just as he started to shift, the familiar sound of snarling went off from inside the house. The men inside all started screaming. Sen immediately reached out and grabbed Rick's arm, stopping him from moving as the man above them suddenly rushed back into the house.

“ _Son of a bitch_ ,” They heard him mutter, the two men flinching as a series of gunshots went off from inside. Just as they heard the door swing open and slam shut, they shot forward like jack rabbits and made a break for Carl and Michonne. Just as they met up, Rick hissed for them to run, the two turning around and obeying without objection or a second thought.

The four of them bolted down the street without looking back.

* * *

 

“And heeere’s your room,” Gareth chirped, opening up the door and holding an arm towards the inside. Kei took a step forward and peeked in, her eyes widening at the cleanliness of it all. Clean carpet floors, neatly made bed with an actual pillow. She even got a window with actual glass on it. She stepped further inside and took a second to really soak it all in. It was happening. This wasn’t a dream. This was sanctuary.

“You okay?” She heard the guy ask, a chuckle in his voice as he watcher her sniffle.

“Sorry,” She breathed, chuckling as she quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve, “ I just―just can't believe a place like this exists.”

She quickly wiped her eyes a second time and turned to look over at Gareth, “Has anyone else new come in?”

The man's lips twisted to the side in thought before he shook his head.

“Nope, you’re the first in a while,” He said simply, “Why, you expecting people?”

Her dark eyes fell to the floor for a moment before she shook her head, turning it to look back out at the window. So many people. Alive and happy

“Well, you’re free to join the welcome wagon and greet all newcomers that come our way,” He offered, “We get a steady flow of people coming in every now and then.”

She turned and raised her brows at him in surprise, the brunette smiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Well, I’ve got some inventory to take care of, so if you need anything, my brother Alex is down in the Quad. Just give him a shout, kay?”

The girl nodded lightly and smiled, Gareth grinning back and taking hold of the door knob.

“You're gonna fit in well here, Kei, don't you worry,” He assured, “You're family now. It's no longer just you alone, it's 'us'”

Us. Hearing it made Kei's lips purse and her eyes fall as he shut the door. She looked back out the window and furrowed. Us. It was 'us' now. Again, with new people. She had a new leader. She had new group to look out for. She had a new life.

“Us,” She muttered. Such a strange word. Strange to hear it coming from someone she barely knew, and from someone other than Rick or Daryl.

* * *

 

Still no sign of newcomers.

No sign of Sen, or Rick, or Daryl.

No sign of anyone from her old group.

Still, the girl remained hopeful.

At breakfast, she heard one of the Terminites ranting about spotting animal tracks around the fence-line. Unfortunately, one of the perimeter scouts immediately shot down that idea and simply stated it was coyotes.

She hated how no one ever knew the time around here.

Everyone in the camp tried to go by the sun, or how they “felt”, but it was never an accurate telling of time. Just night and day. She found all the little inconveniences around Terminus were making her more and more nostalgic for her old group. Rick had a watch. Carl had books to read. Michonne had cooler stories. And Daryl could cook the hell out of a deer.

That is, if it was a deer they were eating.

No one was ever really clear with her on what it was they were eating, or how they even managed to get so much meat. They all sucked as hunters, and Gareth wasn't afraid to admit that as he joked with her at the table one day.

“You should see Albert and Max and Tony out there, it's like watching the 3 stooges,” He'd chuckle as he bit off another chunk of meat. Kei winced a little. There was something animal-like in the way he and the others ate. It was similar in how Daryl would eat, but she could tell there something else there. Daryl was just a sloppy eater, animal-like in the way that he ate to survive, and he couldn't give a fuck about civilized manners. But this wasn't that with the Terminus group. When everyone here ate the meat, they ate it like it was personal. It was like an experience for them, and Kei couldn't place her finger as to why. Everyone acted so odd when it came to the food.

“You should take a picture,” Gareth chirped with his mouth full. Kei snapped out of her thoughts and blinked at him, watching as he flashed that boyish-charming grin of his, “It’ll last longer.”

The girl rolled her eyes and nudged him in the shoulder as she took off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. Gareth watched her as she chewed, and it made her frown. The way he was looking at her, how his eyes wandered, it was anything but charming. His eyes flitted down to her mouth, seeming all too focused on her lips as she quickly licked them.

“Problem?” She asked, her words seeming to snap him out of his gaze. He blinked at her, his eyes wide as he let out a confused, “What?”

“You were staring, pretty creepily,” She answered, the man perking up instantly as his expression went from confused to full of panic.

“Oh god, sorry!” He let out, “I wasn’t trying to be creepy or any― I was just―” He stopped and instead hung his head in embarrassment, groaning as the whole act made the corner of Kei’s mouth perk up in amusement.

“I'm sorry,” He apologized, lifting his head to look back at her, “I shouldn't be staring. It's just...you're interesting.”

“Still creepy,” She spoke, Gareth chuckling before shaking his head.

“No no no, I mean, you eat, but you don’t eat,” He remarked, tilting his head at her, “Why is that?”

She sighed and handed him her plate to finish, “I really don’t get everyone here is so anal about the food.”

“Food is everything,” He said firmly, Kei furrowing at him as his expression changed. For a second she could've sworn she saw a flash of anger in his eyes. His posture straightened as he looked at her, his eye contact firm and direct, unrelenting as he opened his mouth.

“It’s more precious than gold,” He expressed, watching as Kei leaned away a little in clear discomfort. His eyes looked at her up and down before the corner of his mouth perked up. He could see it. He could see it on every outsider that crossed him. They didn’t know. No one could ever know.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be hungry,” He spoke, a dark form of anger thick on his soft his voice, “Starving to the point of death…”

He turned to look at her, his eyebrow quirking upward as his head tilted slightly.

“Well, judging by your figure, i'd say you _might_ have a clue,”

“Wow, _okay_ ,” She said, quickly getting up out of her seat, “Well this has been a blast, so uh, I'm gonna go. And you can go fuck yourself.”

“Aw, K―” He got up from his seat as well and watched as she started walking away “Kei wait.”

She gave him the finger as she started walking towards her room, ignoring the young man trailing after her and calling her name.

“Kei! Wait!” He said frantically, finally catching up and taking her hand, “Kei can you wait just a secon―”

“You're an asshole you know that?!” She bit, turning around sharply before pushing him away from her. He stumbled back a little, surprised by her strength as she continued to yell at him.

“The fuck do you know about what I've been through?! What I've lost?!” She let out, pointing to herself as the words came pouring out like water, “I've been shit on my entire goddamn life! Even before this fucking shit-storm happened! I've lost my whole family! I lost my home! I've lost everything and EVERYONE I'VEE EVER LOVED AND―”

She stopped herself as the tears started to pour out. She put her hands to her face and tried to stop them, stop everything from coming out in the open. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of them were supposed to know anything.

“Shit―!” She whimpered at herself, sniffling and wiping her eyes as the tears kept coming. She couldn’t hold it in for much longer, and she eventually caved when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her close. She felt the warmth of Gareth’s and buried herself into his shirt, the scent and the feel so much different from the arms she was used to.

“I'm sorry,” He muttered into her hair, “I'm so sorry...”

“You’re a piece of shit,” She muttered into his chest.

“I know,” He sighed, smirking lightly as he let out a small scoff, “Honestly, tell me something I _haven't_ heard before.”

He felt her chuckle into her chest, the spot on his shirt still warm and damp from her crying. He let go of her as she shifted and gently pushed him away, taking a step back to wipe her eyes and compose herself.

“I'm gonna kick your ass later, okay?” She sniffled, carefully wiping her eyes, “Don't go anywhere.”

The man nodded and snickered lightly as she nodded in agreement and turned away. As she did so, his faint smile fell and sadness washed over his face.

“Kei,” He called, watching her as she stopped and looked back at him, “I really am sorry…”

Her eyes flicked down to the pavement before looking back at him. She nodded lightly and went back towards the housing, neither of them saying another word.

 

It wasn't long after that when Gareth came back to Kei's room and sat her down for a talk. He admitted to her that he and the others in the group were skeptical of her at first, but they felt that she could truly be one of them. He explained to her that in order for that to happen, for her to truly be accepted, he would have to know everything there is about her, and she would have to know everything about them. The girl wasn't so sure at first. He had given her the day to collect her thoughts, and let her know that this whole thing was about trust. Trust was everything to this group. It was more precious than gold, they would say.

Around dinner time, Gareth brought a plate up to Kei's room and they shared a meal. During this time, Kei relented and explained what she could without breaking her heart all over again. Gareth listened patiently, showing no signs of judgment or horror or disgust as she gave small glimpses into her past. She talked more about her group, how she met them, how they first got separated, the hell she went through during the winter, and how fate brought her back to them. She talked about the prison, the war with the Governor, and how he ended up managing to separate them once again in the end. When she finished, Gareth's eyebrows were raised in surprise, his smile was light, and that confused her.

“You are truly amazing, Kei,” He admitted, smiling as her eyebrows raised in surprise, “I mean it! After everything you've been through, here you are...”

He leaned forward and stared at her intently, the corner of his mouth perking up in a crooked smile,

“They’re gonna write stories about you someday,”

Hearing it made her sputter out a scoff, Gareth grinning widely and saying “I mean it!” in a genuine tone.

“You've gone through hell and back, and look at you,” He remarked, motioning to all of her, “Risen from the ashes...You're gonna do so well here, I can tell.”

She shook her head and scoffed, popping another piece of meat in her mouth as she leaned forward,

“So what about you?” She asked, her curious tone melding into a dramatic one, “What dark secrets are being harbored behind Terminus’ holy fences?”

Gareth let out an airy chuckle, briefly scratching the back of his head before looking down at the holes in the knees of his jeans. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his head, and his eyes flicked up to look at her own.

“Why don’t I show you?”

 

She held onto Gareth's hand tightly as he led her through the dark. She had no idea where she was going, or which building she was going to exactly, but when she saw the bright glow emanating from the warehouse windows, she suddenly felt uneasy. He lead her up to a large rusted door and opened it up for her, guiding her inside to see the dark secret being illuminated by a million and one candles. When Kei stepped inside, she felt a mix of things; surprise, confusion, awe. The room was filled with candles, all of them everywhere, some nestled in groups on the floor. Kei looked down as Gareth carefully led her inside to get a better look. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking, and also somewhat scary. Names were written in a perfect circle on the floor with chalk, each name having a certain memento placed with it. Clothes, jewelry, pretty stones, stuffed animals, military badges, it was like looking at some twisted form of a magic circle.

“Brittany Rose, 27” She read, breifly staring at the pair of dirty shoes by her name before going to another, “David Cornett…”

She looked around at all the names on the floor before looking at the writing on the wall. Big bolded letters reading just what Terminus was about.

**NEVER AGAIN**

**NEVER TRUST**

**WE FIRST, ALWAYS**

“Welcome to Church,” Gareth announced, letting go of her hand as she stepped away from him.

“What is all this?” She asked, her voice just barely above a whisper as she signaled to the floor, “Who are all these people?”

“These are the loved ones we lost,” He explained simply, “Terminites looking for sanctuary, who ended up getting killed by the people who tried to take this place…”

She didn’t know what to say. The words failed her as she looked around, trying to take it all in and process it. The stained glass windows, candles, the writings on the wall…

“People came here and tried to take what we had,” He said to her, “We used to help people. We saved people... but then, things changed. They came in and―they….”

Kei turned to face him. She watched as his eyes darkened and his lips pursed, his hands shaking as the memory reeled in his thoughts over and over.

“They tortured us, starved us, raped us…” His voice shook and broke a little on that last part. He quickly brought his sleeve up to his eyes, wiping them as he spoke, “My mother, she…”

He sniffled, wiping his nose before taking a much needed breath. He let out a heavy exhale and looked over to the spindly girl. His eyes following her as she walked up to him

“I promised to never let a thing like that happen again, to any of us,” He explained, looking down into her big brown eyes, “You know what it’s like, Kei. You said it yourself…All those things that happened to you because of the Governor…the Bikers…”

He watched her expression soften. He knew his words were having some effect on her, and it made him sigh internally in relief. She could see it now, he could tell. She could see it and understand. She was starting to understand Terminus.

“That's why I showed you this,” He said, staring directly in her eyes, “I showed you this because I need to know I can trust you. And you need to know you can trust me. Terminus is all about trust. It's absolutely everything. It's life or death.”

She gently gripped onto his shirt and leaned into his frame as the man hugged her close. He shut his eyes as he shifted and pressed his lips to the side of her head, planting a soft kiss,

“It’s us or them,” He muttered softly.

They stood like that for some time before he felt her nod lightly in understanding.

“Us or them,” She muttered back, furrowing into his shirt as she heard him whisper,

“I'm so glad you understand,” He muttered in sheer thankfulness, “Soon you'll see here, you're either the butcher, or you're the cattle.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ain't sayin' nothin but:  
> 


	52. A - Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, thank God you're here,” She gushed out. She looked over to the warehouse with her expression full of disgust, like as if the whole building was tainted, “That girl is a monster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alriiight! Another quick update for you cuties. Hope you enjoy! xx

Kei tried her hardest to ignore the familiar crackle of her walkie talke, Gareth's filtered voice coming through and wishing everyone a good morning. He announced everyone's positions and the shell-count for the day, encouraging everyone to keep their shots to a minimum so they could conserve ammo.

“ _Kei, you'll be on spotting duty with me for the first couple of hours, before heading out with Sam and Kaylee to collect shells_ ,” He announced, Kei audibly groaning as he babbled on,“ _Alex will be in the quad with Ryan doing inventory..._ ”

Looking at trees, and picking up old bullet shells off the ground. The work was as tedious as it got. She'd been here for a long while, and she was still stuck doing the same old boring stuff. She wanted to go out past the fences, she wanted to hunt. But most of all, she wanted to go out and find them. Her family.

“You have a family,” Gareth would say, smiling that smile of his that made the corner of her mouth quirk, “I mean granted, we aren't as _amazing_ or as _functional_ as your old group sounds, but we're good here. We're close. We care about each other.”

“I know,” She sighed, setting her binoculars down on her lap, “I just think they're out there somewhere...I _know_ they're out there.”

Gareth watched as she ran a hand through her hair, a mess of dark brown waves that stopped just past her bony shoulders. She had a frown on her face as she stared out at the woods, her dark eyes looming over the trees and the ground below. The man could tell she was longing for something. For them.

“Well...if they are, and they saw the signs, then they'll come here,” He replied optimistically, placing a hand on her shoulder, “You'll see them soon enough.”

The girl looked over at him and nodded, flashing a small smile before looking back out towards the woods.

“I mean...for right now though, do you think you can keep helping out around here?” He asked, quickly looking away before chuckling anxiously, “I-I know we're not as valuable as a group of hunters and sherriffs and nurses, but you really are an asset to this group. Things have gotten a lot better since you came...”

Kei smiled lightly, his words really warming her heart and lifting her spirits just a little more. Gareth looked back at her with a firey sense of determination behind his bright green eyes.

“And I know they'll keep getting better once your old group comes. We'll be 10 times stronger than before,” He assured, his smile growing sly as he gently nudged her with his shoulder, “And I'll finally get to meet this Daryl Dixon you keep gushing about.”

The girl immediately rolled her eyes and looked away. “Shut up,”

“What, I gotta meet my competition!”

“It's not a contest, he wins by far,” She stated. The man gave her an offended and surprised look, his expression quickly falling into a grin as Kei scoffed and nudged him hard in the shoulder. He quickly nudged her back, and before she could retaliate, he slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close, messing with her hair and forcing her to say “Uncle!” before he could do any more damage. He immediately let go and recoiled as the girl leaned over and punched him in the arm. It didn't hurt, but it was anything but gentle. The two of them sat on the rooftop and continued to talk and tease each other the whole morning, not paying any attention the small bit movement that was going on in the woods below.

After 2 and a half hours of just laughing and half-assing a job, Gareth checked his watch and got up to stretch his arms with a sigh.

“I gotta go check on Meg and the others in the Map room,” He announced, looking out at the woods, “It looks like not much is happening here. You can head back down to the quad for a quick break, if you like. Just be back up here to finish out the hour.”

Kei nodded and set her binoculars aside as she got up. She rose her arms up high above her and stretched, grunting before letting out a sigh of relief as she let them fall to the side. She was finally able to leave the rooftop, and it was a welcome sight to see Mary and the other terminants already outside enjoying the day when she entered the Quad. The grill was in full gear this afternoon, the scent of smoke and burning wood surrounding her as the stepped up beside Gareth's mother. She planted a small kiss on the woman's cheek and watched as she smiled a bright smile. The girl was almost taken with it. She could see where Gareth and Alex got theirs from now.

“And how are you today, darling?” Mary asked, carefully going across the grill and flipping the meat.

“Fine,” She said simply, looking down at the grill and the large slabs that cooked on it. There was more there than usual, and she acknowledged it. “Where'd all this come from?”

Mary looked down at the grill and kept her eyes on it as she cooked. “Oh, Albert and a few others came back from a hunt last night.”

Kei let out an offended noise and held her arms out, her expression saying all that it needed to.

“I know, dear, I know,” The woman sympathized, “But you were so tired last night, Gareth told them you needed a rest. And he was right. You slept in until noon today.”

The girl let her hands fall to her sides again and she huffed, the woman assuring her that she could go hunting with the others tomorrow. But the girl wasn't so sure. They all kept blowing her off, telling her things like 'it was too late', or 'they ran on a schedule' or 'they had someone else do it' at a ridiculous hour of the day. Kei was so close to calling 'bullshit' on all of this and just going out herself, but when Mary handed her a plate of meat and smiled, the girl couldn't help but smile back and cave. The woman was just too sweet. No matter how frustrated she was about something, the woman's soft voice and elegant nature always calmed her down.

The girl took the plate and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before leaving. She headed back towards the warehouse and went up the steps, absentmindedly going for the handle when the front door suddenly opened up. She jumped back a little and swore as Kaylee walked right out without so much as a 'sorry'. Kaylee's rude self wasn't the first thing Kei noticed though. It was the distinct colorful pattern on the article of clothing she wore. She'd recognized the texture and feel of the horseblanket poncho as it brushed up against her skin. Seeing it almost made the memories smack against her like a tidal wave― the memories of the prison, of motorcycle rides down empty highways, of a hunter carefully treading across the forest floor with his crossbow.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth went slack for a minute in shock.

The poncho was here. _His_ poncho.

But where was he?

She turned around sharply and shouted Kaylee's name, the blond turning around with a shocked look as the dark haired girl leaped over the railing and stomped over to her.

“What do you wa―” The girl let out a squeak of surprise as Kei reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in and grabbing a chunk of her poncho.

“Where did you get this?!”

Kaylee's eyes went wide. “Wh-what?!”

“This! This poncho!” She barked, shaking the fistful of fabric in her hand, “Where did you get it?!”

The blonde woman tried jerking away, but Kei's iron grip held her there. Still, she struggled against her like a fish caught in a hook.

“Let go of me!” She bit, “Jesus! What is your proble―”

“Answer the fucking question!!” Kei barked, shaking the girl as an audience started forming around her, “Where the fuck did you get this?!”

“Kei!” She heard Mary yell from behind her, “What are you doing?! What's wrong?!”

“You tell me where you got this right now, before I rip your throat out,” The girl seethed, Kaylee's face going white as a sheet as she was nose to nose with the girl. She could tell that Kei wasn't playing around, her expression dark and her eyes manic. She looked wild, like a dog hanging on the very edge of it's leash. She was gracing Kaylee with a chance. Give her what she wanted, and she wouldn't rip you to pieces right then and there.

“M-Mike got it off a dead one!” She let out, yelping as Kei attempted to yank it off of the girl. She screamed and writhed around as she got tangled in the poncho, occasionally getting hit in the head a couple times, undoubtedly by Kei's fist. The dark haired girl could feel people closing in on her, some trying to grab at her arms and shoulders, others trying to pry Kaylee away from her. But she wouldn't let go. She would never let go until she got an answer, a real answer as to why she had Daryl's poncho in her possession.

“That's bullshit! Who did you steal this from?!” She screamed, finally ripping the poncho off the girl. Kaylee toppled out of the mess of fabric and into Mary's arms. She latched onto the woman tight, watching as a small group of terminants attempted to pull Kei away.

“Tell me where you got this?!” She screamed, writhing against everyone's hold as they dragged her back, “TELL ME!”

“Kei! Stop this!” She heard Mary yell. But she didn't stop. She just screamed and screamed, swearing her head off at Kaylee, threatening to harm her in every way possible in attempts to get the truth out of her. She was so close to him, thanks to this poncho. This was the first sign she had that he was out there somewhere, waiting, searching, surviving. This was the closest thing she had next to him, the real thing. She wasn't going to let go now, not ever.

And she sure as hell wasn't going to accept that he was dead out there somewhere.

Her man was alive, and she was going to find out where.

She swung her fist around and socked the man gripping her arm in the jaw. He let go with a cry and toppled over onto the pavement. A few survivors screamed and watched as Kei became a reckless force, pure anger personified, spewing out rage like a volcano. She darted forward and charged at Kaylee, Mary screaming for her to stop before stepping away out of sheer terror. Kaylee cried and braced herself as a bony body smacked into her own, both of them hitting the ground with a hard thud. The blonde flailed around, trying her hardest to fight back, but it was proving no use against the girl above her who kept delivering blow after blow.

A second wave of terminants came and finally pried her off, dragging her away from Kaylee and the others who stared in horror at the scene that went down in front of them. Mary and a few others walked over and helped Kaylee up off the ground. The girl was absolutely livid as she smoothed down her wild hair, her skin a bright red as she stared daggers at Kei. Blood dribbled down past her lips and chin, making her look more wild and more animal-like than ever.

“You keep that crazy bitch away from me!” Kaylee demanded, her eyes blurred with hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She sniffled and wiped the blood off her lips and nose, her eyes watching Kei the entire time as she was dragged back into the warehouse, still clutching onto that poncho for dear life.

* * *

 

“You stay here!” One of the older terminants bit, tossing the girl inside, “Gareth's gonna have a word with you!”

Kei turned around sharply and darted towards the exit, the survivors quickly shutting the door before she could reach them. She slammed up against the doors with a hard thud and immediately reached for the knobs, yanking at them as hard as she could before pausing when she heard the sound of rattling chains.

“You fucking assholes!” She screamed out, pounding her fists and boots against the door, “Where is he?! Where's Daryl?!”

Soon after, she was out of control. She had reached the very point of breaking, her rage overcoming her to the point where she felt like she was going to explode. She tossed over tables and threw around whatever useless junk she could find. She screamed and screamed and screamed, tears stinging her eyes and fear burning her insides. They were alive. They were alive and she needed to find them. She needed to find Daryl, and Sen, and the wolves. She needed her group, her _real_ group, and the impostors outside this warehouse were keeping them from her.

Well, the girl wasn't going to have it.

She was going to tear down everything in this room, and then, everyone who stood in her way. She was going to destroy everything and break free and make everyone pay for their lies and any harm they may have caused to Daryl and her group.

Especially Daryl.

If they had hurt him, in any way, whatsoever...

The very thought made her mind shut down and blistering rage becoming all-encompasing.

She picked up a rusty old pipe and tossed with a loud cry, watching as it flew and smashed right into a window. The glass shattered with a loud noise, and she could hear the survivors outside yell in shock. She continued spewing her rage at the group, tossing and smashing and breaking everything she could find. She had lost all control of her feelings, of common sense. She was wild and manic, and dangerous. One thing the group outside was certain of – if a living throat crossed her path right now, she would rip it out with her teeth.

* * *

 

Gareth picked up his little black book and whistled as he tallied off the number of stock that had been bled out today. 3 from A, 2 from C, and one from D. After looking at the numbers, he noticed that they were dwindling, but it was nothing to be worried about just yet. Another group would come along, he thought, and then things would even out.

He looked down at the trough and watched as all the red spilled out from their necks.

So much blood.

Who knew they carried so much in them.

It all just kept spilling out, the lifeless bodies like stone statues as the red leaked out of their throats like water to a faucet.

“They really don't look like much on the outside,” He remarked thoughtfully, a strange sense of curiosity still peaking his interest to this day.

“They _ain't_ much on the outside,” Greg remarked, slowly dragging the bodies away one by one. A couple other men helped him out, everyone working like a well-oiled machine as they carried out their regular routines in prepping. Gareth watched as they were dragged to the back of the slaughterhouse. Lawyers, businessmen, volunteers for the red cross―he knew who all of them were. All of them were something in their lives before the turn. And now, they amounted to nothing.

Nothing but the charred slabs on everyone's plates.

“Gareth!” He heard his brother Alex cry. The boy came in out of breath and looking like he'd just seen the devil. His eyes were wide and the panic was clear on his face as he pointed in the Quad's direction.

“We...We got a problem out front,” He said between pants, “It's Kei, she's...She's lost it, man!”

The other men looked to their leader, surprised to find him oddly neutral about it. He merely looked away for a second at the blood-splattered floors before closing his book.

“I'll go talk to her,” He said simply, walking towards the exit, “Be sure to clean all this up before we go Public Face.”

The butchers nodded, watching with a chill running down each of their spines as their leader left the slaughterhouse.

 

When he walked up to the quad, he found a small group of terminants surrounding a distraught Kaylee. They patted her shoulders and cooed words of comfort as she cried her bruised little eyes out. Even from a distance, the brunette could tell that Kei did a number on her. Messy hair, tear stained cheeks, scratches all over the skin.

He wondered if Kaylee even managed to land a scratch on her in return.

Mary was the first to notice her son and immediately rushed up to him.

“Oh, thank God you're here,” She gushed out. She looked over to the warehouse with her expression full of disgust, like as if the whole building was tainted, “That girl is a monster.”

Gareth sighed lightly. “Now mom―”

“She hurt Kaylee!” The mother bit, her son immediately shutting his mouth as she continued to yell, “She attacked that poor girl for _no_ reason!”

Gareth's lips twisted to the side a little, the disbelief clear on his face. If there's one thing Kei always had, it was a reason to fight back. Especially when someone pissed her off, and boy, did Kaylee piss her off. The two never really saw eye to eye on anything.

“You get rid of her, Gareth,” The woman demanded, his faint smile falling as his mother looked him firmly in the eye, “No one wants her here....She's a threat.”

Those three words caused his expression to change. It was a serious accusation that just left his mother's lips, one that would normally condemn the one being accused to becoming their next meal.

But Kei wasn't going to be their next meal. Gareth wouldn't let that happen.

“ _I_ want her here,” He retorted, the look in his eyes just as serious as hers. His mother glared daggers at him, the icy blues in her eyes that normally sent a chill down his spine did nothing to him now. Instead of giving in to his mother's wishes with his tail between his legs, he patted her shoulders and looked over to the warehouse,

“I'll go talk to her.”

 

When he unlocked the chains and entered the warehouse, he wasn't all that surprised to see everything torn up and broken on the floor. Glass shattered, chairs smashed, tables overturned. It looked like a hurricane hit the place. In some way or another, it did.

And the source of that hurricane sat in the middle of the floor, knees brought up to her chest.

She looked straight ahead, right through him, not saying a word. Gareth stepped up to her and knelt down on the floor, his expression calm, and his smile light as he looked around the room.

“It's not as bad as I thought it would be,” He remarked, chuckling softly. Kei didn't respond. She just kept looking straight ahead. The man looked at her and his lips twisted to the side.

“I heard about what happened between you and Kaylee,” He spoke, the girl still saying nothing in response. He scooted closer to her and leaned over, resting his chin on her knees. He continued to look at her, his smile light and warm against her icy glare. When her eyes finally met his, the man smiled wider, so much so it made the girl roll her eyes and he laughed lightly.

“Sour puss,”

“Fuck off,” She mumbled, the ghost of a smirk flashing across her face before disappearing, “...Where did Kaylee get that poncho?”

“Ah, yes, _the cause of all this_ ,” He replied with a small nod, his grin growing crooked as he playfully spoke, “Why, do you want it for yourself?”

“It belongs to someone I know,” She answered plainly, her stare firm and intent when she sensed that he didn't believe her, “It's his, he made it himself.”

Gareth paused for a second before nodding lightly in understanding, his eyes falling to the floor before looking back at her,

“Who did it belong to?”

Her lips twisted to the side for a second before her eyes fell.

“...Daryl,” She answered quietly. “Kaylee, she said Mike got it off a dead―” She choked a little as she quickly wiped her eyes, clearing her throat before shaking her head, “He's not. He's...He's not dead. I know he's not.”

Gareth sat there and watched her in silence for a second, his heart slightly aching at the sight of the pained look on her face. He scooted up closer and gently pressed his forehead against hers.

“Why won't anyone let me go out to find him?” She breathed, the tears stinging her eyes as she shut them tight. Gareth watched through his lashes as little droplets started rolling down her cheeks. He brought a hand up and carefully wiped them away.

“Because it's dangerous out there,” He muttered softly, “You could get hurt, or lost, or overrun...”

He gently rested his hands against the back of her head and held her close, the man shutting his eyes as they kept their foreheads pressed against one another's.

“...I don't know what I'd do if I lost you,” He admitted, listening as the girl huffed through her nose, “I'm serious. I care about you...I care about what happens to you...”

He looked up at her with a faint smile, his eyes scanning her own for a response. She didn't say anything. She just looked at him, a whole range of emotions flashing across her face. Confusion, wariness, curiosity. He chuckled softly and started to lean in, the girl frowning as he shut his eyes and started getting close to her lips. She quickly turned her head and leaned away before looking back at him,

“What are you doing?” She asked, her tone sounding more curious rather than angry.

The man receded and sat up straight again, the faintest hint of embarrassment on his face as he chuckled softly and dipped his head before looking back at her.

“Look, I-I mean, you're nice and all, but I'm with someone,” She mentioned, quickly wiping her eyes as spare tears came creeping out.

“Right, right, Daryl,” He remarked with a nod, his eyes falling to the floor, “I know. I know...I'm sorry, I just...care. About you.”

The girl sniffled as her head tilted slightly, a quizzical look on her face as his eyes met hers once more. He gave her a crooked smile.

“In all honesty, I just hate seeing you so heartbroken,” He admitted thoughtfully, “And I hate being here on the sidelines unable to really help...I just...if I could pick up all the pieces right now and mend them, I would. You know?”

She chuckled lightly and wiped her eyes again, Gareth slinging an arm over her shoulders and hugging her close.

“I want to see you smile more, and laugh, and be happy,” He admitted, “I want you to be happy. More than anything.”

The girl looked down at the holes in the knees of her jeans. She was happy once. She smiled, and laughed, and enjoyed things. She was happy. She was happy with her group, her family...

“And it's okay, I know the boundaries. We can just be friends,” She heard him add, the playful boyish charm clear on his face, “We can start slow. The basic stuff. Like favorite colors, favorite foods...”

He looked over at Kei and she kept quiet, sniffling and wiping her eyes, not saying anything in response. The man sighed lightly and still kept his smile, leaning in and pressing his forehead against hers once more.

“You'll open up to me eventually,” He muttered, his voice sounding more optimistic than it did disappointed. They sat together like that for a little while―eyes shut, breathing calm, not really saying anything to each other. They were both lost in their own thoughts, Gareth's mind wandering out towards the woods, thinking about where in the world the owner of that poncho could be. He wondered whether or not he really wanted Daryl and Kei reunited. The way she talked about him though, like he was amazing and talented and so....human. It left an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. A feeling he didn't really favor at all.

“...Blueberry pancakes,” She spoke out suddenly, her quiet voice pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her, his bright eyes meeting her dark ones as she sniffled and cleared her throat, “I like blueberry pancakes and maple syrup.”

He nodded lightly, giving her a faint smile and shutting his eyes as he muttered a small confession in return.

“My favorite color is green,”

 

After a few more minutes of talking, Gareth instructed Kei to head to the roof to keep watch. He assured her that he would talk to the others about keeping her in the group, and let them know that she's not a threat. In return though, she had to give the poncho back to Kaylee. Just for the time being, though. Apparently, she had to show good faith.

“Good faith,” The girl scoffed bitterly as she stared at the woods through the sights of her rifle, “I'll show her ass good faith.”

She was half tempted to start shooting at the trees. Anything to vent her frustration. Hell, she wished a walker would just come up to the fence just so she could take it out. Anything to replace Kaylee's lying ass, she thought. Daryl was out there somewhere. He was out there in the woods with the others, probably on his way to Terminus. Hopefully on their way. She couldn't wait until he did show up. They could eat, sleep for a couple days, and then hopefully get the hell out of here before she went crazy. She felt like she was going crazy-the way everyone was acting, how they treated her.

Hell, during the day, while she was on watch on the roof, she could've sworn she heard voices.

Not the usual chit-chat and laughter she would hear from the residents down in the Quad, she was too far away to hear any of that. These voices were nearby. They were faint, and they were muffled, but they were near, and they were calling out for something.

Now at night she wouldn't hear anything, and some days would go completely quiet, but the days that weren't so quiet were the ones that worried her the most.

And today was one of those days.

The muffled noises were too much for the girl to just simply ignore anymore. Something was wrong, and she had to find out what it was. She knew she couldn't bother asking the others in her group again, knowing full well now that they were liars and weirdos to boot. Something was wrong, and she was going to find out by herself.

She set her rifle down next to her lawn chair and got up, stretching her arms and legs before walking over to the stairwell and heading back down into the warehouse. Instead of going out the front like usual, this time she went through the back, listening carefully as she tried to follow the odd sound through the railyard.

 

The smell in the yard was unreal– like walkers, feces, and urine all rolled into one. The girl coughed and covered her nose as she walked through, maneuvering around empty train cars and old wooden crates. She could hear the sound getting louder, and the stench getting stronger. The cars were all labeled by the letters B, D, and F. All were hand written in paint.

“ _Kei, can you put these in the warehouse for me?” Gareth walked up to her with a big crate full of hand-picked fruit in his arms. The girl quickly set down her book and rushed up to him, wiping her hands on her jeans before taking the crate from him._

“ _Sure,” She said simply, taking the crate into her hands, “You don't want me to put these out back?”_

_The brunette shook his head and simply shrugged, “Nah, i's all good. You probably wouldn't wanna go back there, anyway. It's where Greg butchers all the meals.”_

_She let out an audible 'egh,' in disgust. Very much not in the mood to see gored up deer carcasses this early in the morning._

“ _Mike'll put them in the back for ya,” He informed, “He knows where everything goes.”_

Kei slowly treaded across the pavement, looking down at all the dried blood splatters and streaks. Something was dragged out here, injured, and bleeding out. The girl could feel her heart racing behind her ribcage, her stomach twisting in knots as she continued further into the yard. Her eyes went over to an area surrounded by fence not too far from a car labeled 'C'. It looked like a cage, the area very vaguely curtained by ripped up pieces of tarp and cloth. She noticed that ground had been covered in tarp as well, and she stepped up to the caged area in curiosity.

“ _So what about you?” She asked him, her curious tone melding into a dramatic one, “What dark secrets are being harbored behind Terminus’ holy fences?”_

She walked up to the rusted chain-link fence, gripping her necklace tight in her hand, her heart feeling like a heavy weight in her chest. It panged hard against her ribcage, rattling her bones and already shaking muscles. She could see something red splayed across on the tarp.

_Gareth let out an airy chuckle, briefly scratching the back of his head before looking down at the holes in the knees of his jeans. His eyes flicked up to look at her own, a crooked, devilish smirk on his pretty face._

“ _ **Why don’t I show you?”**_

She stared through the tattered curtain and immediately leaped back with her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening as she tried to keep from screaming at the sight of what was littered across the floor.

 

The image of ribcages and skulls and entrails kept flashing across her mind as she stumbled back through the warehouse, her knees felt weak, as did her stomach, and her brain, and everything else. She couldn't focus. She couldn't breathe. She felt sick. Sick. These people were sick. Beyond sick. These people were monsters. They weren't human. They were--

The image of mashed up guts flashed across her mind again and she gagged, her hand coming to her mouth before quickly pulling away as she threw up. She kept throwing up and groaning as she tried to get the image out of her head, the image of ribcages and spines and guts piled up on that tarp. Thinking about it again made her heave up even more.

Tears stung her eyes as she shut them and begged God to help her forget what she had just seen. She couldn't have seen that. It had to have been a nightmare. If it was a nightmare, she thought, she wanted to wake up now and forget it ever happened.

But it wasn't a nightmare.

That much was clear as she finally finished vomiting, and the sound of bullets suddenly cracked through the air.

 

The girl nearly tripped over her own feet coming out of the building, almost dropping her handgun as she stumbled out onto the pavement and watched as everyone started taking cover. She took cover behind an overturned table and listened as sentries on the roofs started firing. She drew back her weapon and looked over to her right. Kaylee ducking behind another table, still wearing Daryl's poncho. The girl shook her head and tried to look past that for the moment, trying to process just what on earth was happening right now.

“What's going on?!” She yelled over to the blonde. The girl looked up from covering her head and gave Kei the weirdest facial expression. Almost like she was the dumbest girl on the planet for not knowing.

“It's a round up, genius!” She barked, immediately going back to covering her head and keeping her body low.

The dark haired girl frowned and shook her head. “What?!” She then let out a yelp and ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the edge of her barricade. She carefully reached over and started firing, not exactly sure just where or what her target was. Too much was happening right now. She couldn't focus. From finding ribcages hidden in the back to falling into an absolute shitstorm of a firefight, this was an insane day for the girl, far too insane for her to comprehend.

As the sound of the shooting left the quad and started traveling further and further into the camp, Kei finally got up and went to look for Gareth. He would know what was going on. And he would give her an explanation, one way or another. She would beat it out of him if she had to. This was not right. Nothing was right. The image of the ribcages had plagued her mind now. She needed an answer, she needed to know what the hell was going on, and just who these people were.

Although, she figured she knew already, the minute she looked through the tarp.

She audibly swore at herself for not knowing the camp so well. Even though she'd been here for weeks, she still found herself getting lost and turned around every now and then. She was starting to get frustrated. The gunfire had long since ceased, and no one was bothering to tell her what was going on. As far as they were concerned, she wasn't one of them anymore, especially after attacking Kaylee like she did. The girl didn't regret it. And she made a mental note to get back that poncho from her after she got answers from Gareth.

She wasn't going to leave this camp without it.

Just as she stomped past another one of the warehouse buildings, she heard the loud screeching of a buzz saw. The sound made her wince and rub her ear a little, the buzz saw occasionally stopping and starting again at a steady pace. She walked over to the front and went inside holding her ears, hoping whoever was working would know where the hell Gareth went and what was going on.

* * *

“How are the signs coming on, guys?”

Alex turned around and watched as his brother strode into the Map Room with his usual, cheery self. Everyone greeted him with small smiles and hellos as he walked in, the man going straight towards Old Sherrie as she continued to chant in the radio microphone about Terminus. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek before heading over to where Alex and the others were working. Paper and markers and maps were littered everywhere on the giant table, everyone working in tandem. They created fresh Terminus signs and repaired older ones that were worn from the weather. Alex could tell his older brother was pleased with something as he looked over all their handiwork.

“What's got you grinnin' so big?” He asked, genuinely interested in what could possibly have his older brother so taken. Gareth looked over at him and shook his head, the smile still clear on his face. He looked down at the maps that were marked with walker activity when his walkie went off.

“ _We got a group of live ones coming in through the woods,_ ” Greg's filtered voice crackled over the radio. Everyone looked over at Gareth as he took the walkie off his belt and put it to his lips.

“How many?” He asked, releasing the 'talk' button and listening carefully.

“ _...Five,_ ” Greg answered after some time, “ _Three men...One woman...-nd a kid. They got a big bag with 'em too._ ”

Five people. Not as many as the last group that came in, but it wasn't so bad. The leader went over the figures in his head, and determined that it should help even things out. He nodded lightly and pressed the 'talk' button again.

“Alright, get the others and pull back for Public Face,”

“ _...You got it, over._ ”

Gareth sighed as he put his walkie back on his belt. He ran a hand through is hair and shut his eyes in thought.

Hopefully things would go smoother with this group than it did with the last one that came in.

After a few minutes or so, Gareth went back to helping out with the maps and creating new signs. As Alex explained the routes to some of the newcomers on duty, the older brother continued painting, his mind wandering back to the warehouse. Back to where the girl who liked blueberry pancakes resided. He wondered if it were possible to make her some, someday. There had to be a few blueberry orchards around here somewhere, and it shouldn't be too hard to find flour or instant pancake mix. The thought of making her favorite meal made the smile on his face grow wider, his heart beating just a little faster at the thought of her face when she'd see them.

“Hello!” A voice called, it sounding fairly unfamiliar to him. The leader turned around and saw five new faces standing in a row.

Three men, one woman, and a kid.

Gareth rolled his eyes, knowing full-well how this group managed to get in here undetected.

“Well, I bet _Albert_ is on perimeter watch,” He griped, tossing his paintbrush on the table before stepping forwards towards the group.

He looked them over individually. A kid, looking about 14 or 15, fairly skinny, didn't look like he'd put up much of a fight. A woman, with dark skin and dreads and intense eyes, she carried herself and her sword in a position like she was ready to strike. She reminded him of Kei, in a way. As did the man next to her. He was tall and lanky, with a striking face and dark eyes that emanated a cold vibe similar to Kei's. They could be twins, he thought.

The man next to him was wearing a beaten up leather vest over his jacket, and sporting a black eye on his strict face. He had a look on him that reminded the leader of a cautious animal, his body at a slight tilt as his eyes narrowed and lips pursed. He looked strong, and he looked like he would put up one hell of a fight, if needed be. The last man on the right was quite clearly the leader, by the way he carried himself. He was the firs to speak up, to take control, to do all the talking, much like Gareth did. They were strong, the leader could tell. Not just by their marks and bruises, all clear indication that they overcame a great obstacle just recently. They were smart enough to sneak in through the back, and leave behind the bag that Greg had informed him they were carrying.

The thought made the smile on Gareth's face grow. They would do well here.

Now all he had to decide was whether it was in their group, or on their plate.

“You here to rob us?” He asked out, his eyes immediately going to the opposing leader.

“No,” The man answered firmly before stepping forward, “We wanted to see you before you saw us.”

Gareth's eyes flicked down to the man's hand, watching as he put his gun back into his holster. The terminant raised his brows in surprise, nodding in understanding.

“Makes sense,” He chirped simply, looking at the small group as a whole and smiling, “Well, we usually do this where the tracks meet...”

He cleared his throat as he stepped forward and held his arms out, announcing with friendly gusto, “Welcome to Terminus.”

He let his arms fall and looked to each of them with a smile, “I'm Gareth.” His eyes looked over to the kid's battered clothes and the nasty friction burn on the side of his cheek, “Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit.”

“...We have,” The opposing leader answered for him, “I'm Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Sen, and Michonne.”

Gareth's eyes traveled over their wary faces and he smiled, giving them a small wave. No one smiled or waved back in response. They just looked at him liked all outsiders looked at him: with caution. Like he was a threat. Still, the leader gave them a smile and stepped forward, holding out his arms.

“You're nervous, I get it!” He chirped, immediately noticing them take a step back out of instinct. Still he kept moving forward, stopping just a few feet and turning to casually gesture back at his own group,

“We were all the same way,” He turned back and looked over at Rick, “We came here for sanctuary...That what you here for?”

The opposing leader answered with a soft, “Yes.” and Gareth nodded at him,

“Good. You found it.” His eyes flicked over to Carl and he smiled, the young boy's face only matching Rick's in response. The Terminant then turned and called over to Alex, the younger brother perking up and giving a crooked grin as shuffled up to them. Gareth turned and looked back at their newest members, his voice growing friendlier as his brother stepped up to his side.

“This isn't as pretty as the front,” He assured, “We got nothin' to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex here will take ya, ask ya a few questions, but first we need to see everyone's weapons.”

Daryl and Sen both shifted in place, his last few words clearly not sitting right with them.

“If you could just lay them down in front of you,” He instructed, watching as they all looked over to Rick for confirmation. Their leader looked back at them without saying a word, taking only a few seconds before relenting with a small “Alright.”

As soon as he took his pistol out of his holster, the others soon followed, taking out their weapons and laying them down on the concrete floor. Gareth smiled lightly and nodded to Rick as he knelt down, the leader carefully setting his weapons down in front of him,

“Thank you. I'm sure you understand.”

Rick looked back up at him, an air of mistrust still lingering behind his neutral expression.

“Yes I do,” He said simply, standing back up as Gareth and Alex stepped forward. He held his arms out and Gareth started patting him down on his sides and his arms. Alex walked over to Daryl and started patting him down, his eyes immediately going to the shiner that was forming on his right eye.

“I'd hate to see the other guy,” He mused in a lighthearted tone.

“You would,” Rick assured, watching as the young guy smiled sheepishly before continuing his inspection. He walked over to Carl and smiled lightly, patting down his sides.

“They deserve it?” He asked.

“Yes,” The boy answered, his tone similar to his father's. The two brothers went on down the line of survivors, patting each of them up and down for any hidden weapons. Once that was finished, Gareth gave Rick a friendly pat on the back before stepping away.

“Just so you know, we aren't those kind of people, but we aren't stupid,” He made known, “And _you_ shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid.”

He stepped back and looked at each of them, a sincere expression on his face.

“As long as everyone's clear on that, we shouldn't have any problems...” He assured, looking over at Daryl. “Just solutions.”

The hunter's eyes scanned the leader up and down, sizing him up before looking back over to Rick. Rick was looking at Gareth the whole time, watching his friendly charm radiate off of him. The leader of terminus smiled and put his hands together, gently nudging his head in the exit's direction.

“Alright, well, Alex will take ya out, introduce you to everyone, and then we'll get you situated,” He chirped, “I'll see you out on the quad.”

He gave them all a small wave before leaving, Alex stepping forward and handing everyone back their weapons one by one. Daryl went ahead and picked up his crossbow before the guy could even reach down for it. He eyed the young terminant viciously, the mistrust clear on his face as the guy lead them out of the building and further into the camp.

As the others asked questions, and Alex explained a little about the camp's history and how it came to be, Rick and Sen hung back a little. The lanky man looked over to his leader, an expression hard to read on his face.

“You okay?”

Rick looked ahead, staring into the back of Alex's skull, as if there was something on it.

“Something's not right,” He said lowly, turning to look over at his partner, “You feel it?”

The nurse pursed his lips before nodding lightly, the familiar uneasy ache slowly creeping up in his stomach. Something was wrong. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly, but there was something wrong. And Rick could feel it too. That meant there was _definitely_ something wrong.

“Look after Carl,” He heard Rick mutter, carefully giving his hand a quick squeeze before letting go. He nodded ligthtly in response and walked a little faster to catch up to Carl as they approached the grill. A woman with golden brown hair was stationed behind it, flipping large slabs of meat that covered the pit. She had a sweet face and a timid smile, the nervousness clear in her voice as she peeped a small “Hi.”

“Heard you came in through the back door. Smart.” She chirped, her eyes falling back down to her cooking, “You'll fit right in here.”

“Ma, will ya fix each of these new folks a plate for me?” Alex asked, watching as the woman nodded without a word. She started piling the chunks of meat on each plate, Alex handing them out one by one. He handed a plate over to Sen, and the man almost passed out at the sight of it. He wasn't that big of a meat eater to begin with, but once he smelled it cooking, he found his mouth watering. He couldn't take his eyes off of it.

That was, until, he turned to smile a Rick, and noticed that Rick's eyes were elsewhere.

He slowly scanned over the camspite, his expression even colder than before.He radiated mistrust as much as Alex radiated friendliness, and that's when the nurse knew that something was officially wrong. Rick had spotted something, several things wrong with the place, and Sen immediately started looking around to find out what. Everything seemed normal. No one pointed a gun at them, or was acting suspicious. Everyone was just minding their own business, chatting to each other, living out their lives. He looked over to Rick and was about to ask him what was wrong, but the leader suddenly marched forward. His stride was firm and his expression was dark as he walked up to Alex, immediately smacking the plate out of his hands and suddenly reaching into the pocket of the man's cargo pants. His movements were swift as he yanked something out before slinging an arm around Alex's neck, pulling him close and practically choking him. He pointed his handgun right into the guy's temple, his other hand holding the object up for Alex to see.

“ _Where the hell did you get this watch?_ ” He hissed. Sen immediately fumbled for his handgun and pulled it out of his holster, pointing it over at the woman behind the grill who was just reaching for her weapon. Daryl, Michonne, and Carl all held up their weapons, pointing it at the terminants who were now staring at them with their hands on their weapons.

“Where the hell did you get this watch?!” Rick repeated.

The young guy struggled against the Sherriff's grip. “You...You want answers? You want anything else? You get em when you put down the gun,” He grunted.

Rick turned them over to the building across from them, forcing Alex to look up at the man on the roof.

“I see your man with the sniper rifle. How good is his aim?”

Alex swallowed heavily, his entire body shaking as Rick's harsh voice rumbled in his ear.

“Where'd you get the watch?” He growled. Alex kept his eyes on the man on the roof. “WHERE'D YOU GET THE WATCH?!”

“Don't do anything!” The terminant yelled towards the man on the roof, “I have this! You just put it down!” The man on the roof didn't budge. “You put it down!”

He finally relented, slowly setting down his rifle as Alex continued to try and negotiate.

“You wanna listen to me,” He said to the man with the gun, “There's a lot of us.”

“Where did you get the watch?” The leader grit slowly.

“I-I got off of a dead one!” He asserted, “I didn't think he'd need it!”

Rick turned them around once more, forcing him to look over at his fellow terminant survivors.

“What about the riot gear?” He asked, pointing over to the man sporting black SWAT gear, “And the poncho?”

He pointed over to Kaylee and Alex immediately felt his insides twist. He opened his mouth to speak,

“Got the riot gear off a dead cop!” A familiar voice suddenly spoke out. Rick yanked the both of them around to face the speaker. It was Gareth. The man had his hands out, his voice eerily calm in such a tense moment.

“Found the poncho on a clothes line,” He added simply.

Hot tears were starting to burn the younger brother's eyes. “Gareth—”

“Shut up Alex,” He said plainly.

“ _You_ talk to _me_ ,” Rick demanded, his voice quieter, yet still strict. He watched as the Terminant sighed and brought his hands together.

“What's there left to say?” He asked simply, “You don't trust us anymore...”

“Gareth,” Alex whimpered.

“Shut. Up.” The older brother bit, slowly raising his hand up as if to tell him to be quiet. The younger brother didn't relent though. He just kept begging the man to wait, feeling more and more squeamish as the barell of the gun went from his temple to his neck, digging into the flesh. His brother just kept assuring him that things were going to be fine. He hoped to God he was right/

“It's okay. It's okay,” He soothed, looking back over at Rick. “Rick, what do you want?”

The sheriff looked him firmly in the eye, grip on Alex's neck growing tighter. “Where are our people?”

Gareth looked him firmly in the eye as well, his facial expression going blank.

“...You didn't answer the question,”

Right as he closed his hand into a fist, Rick swiveled Alex around and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet right into his head.

Not too long after, bullets started going off every which way.

And the five of them made a run for it through the camp.

 


	53. No Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your friends are going to die,” He promised lowly, “I won't let them leave...”

“ _They seemed nice enough_ _,_ _but I was ready to go_ _...We just got here,_ _but_ _, damn, it was time to go..._ ”

Rick stared up at the line of terminants on the rooftop. Rifles were aimed at them from all directions; from on top of the buildings to behind them past the fence line. His eyes flitted down to his gun that he'd placed on the ground in defeat. How he wanted to pick it up again and fire it at Gareth's head.

The guy stood triumphantly above them on the roof of a building only meters away. He looked down at them with a smirk on his face, which only makes Rick's insides burn even more.

He thinks he's won.

“Ringleader!” He called out, “Go to your left!”

The sheriff turned to look over at his left. There, a few feet away, stood a train car with the letter 'A' painted on it.

“You do what we say, the boy goes with you!” Gareth assured, “Anything else, he dies, and you end up in there anyway.”

The others watched as the leader's breathing grew ragged with anger. He stared daggers up at the terminant before looking down at his son. He slowly started to turn towards the train car, but not before nodding lightly to the boy in the hat, letting him know that things were going to be okay. He walked over to the train car without another word.

“Now the Archer!” Gareth called.

Daryl walked over to the car next.

“Now the Samurai!”

Michonne's eyes narrowed and her expression twisted into something foul as she followed in Daryl's steps.

“And the Bo Staff!”

Sen looked up at Gareth with wide eyes. His heart raced behind his ribcage, his breathing heavy and ragged through his nose as he looked back down at Carl. The boy in the hat nodded to him lightly and gestured towards 'A', his eyes equally as wide as the lanky man stepped away and joined the rest of their group.

“Stand at the door! Ringleader, Archer, Samurai, and the Staff in that order!” He ordered.

The Adults all lined up outside the train car's entrance, leaving Carl in the center of the courtyard with the rifles still pointed at him. Rick kept his eyes on him the whole time.

“My son!” He barked out. Gareth remained silent for a minute or so before finally ordering the kid to go over there. Right as he started walking towards them, the leader of Terminus spoke up again.

“Ringleader! Open the door and go in!”

“I'll go in with him!” The leader retorted loudly.

“Don't make us kill him now!!” Gareth barked. Sen watched as the leader's jaw clenched for a solid couple of seconds, his eyes still on the 14-year-old as he made a fearful, almost robotic stride towards them. The leader turned around and looked back at Sen, the lanky man nodding in understand before turning to look at Carl. As he kept an eye on the boy, Rick stepped up to the train car's door and slid it open, being greeted by the darkness. He turned to look back at Carl before stepping in, Daryl and Michonne doing the same as they stepped in one by one. Carl finally reached them just as Sen made his way up the steps. He carefully reached forward and grabbed the hem of the guy's jacket as they both stepped inside into the dark.

Daryl went and slid the door shut as Carl immediately went to his dad and latched onto his jacket. Rick wrapped a protective arm around him and the five of them huddled over to one side of the car.

In the dark, Sen could feel a hand slip into his own. He didn't know whose it was at first, but once he felt the bandages against his palm, and the coolness of a metal ring against his fingers, he knew it was Rick. He squeezed it gently without saying a word. He was too scared to say anything. Here they were in the dark, taken captive by people who'd lied and tried to kill them all. There was little to no sunlight, they had no weapons, and there was no way to escape.

Deep down, he was thankful Kei wasn't here to be in this mess with them.

“ _Rick?”_ A voice called out softly. The five of them tensed up at the sound of footsteps quietly pattering across the floor. Sen looked over to the other end of the car and squinted, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness to reveal a figure walking towards them.

Once he got a good look at the person, his eyes widened in disbelief.

It was Glenn. He was alive. And Maggie was with him too. She stepped up to his side and looked at all of them with the same amount of shock and relief. Bob and Sasha then walked up to look at them all as well.

Rick stepped forward and looked at them, the relief clear on his face.

“You're here....”

4 unfamiliar faces then stepped up and stared at them also, a faint sense of apprehension radiating off of them. There were two men, and two women, each of them looking like they'd been through hell and back.

Maggie looked back at them before looking to Rick. “They're our friends. They helped save us.”

“Yeah,” Daryl spoke, giving her a nod of understanding, “Now they're friends'a ours...”

“For however long _that'll_ be...” The tallest stranger spoke. From what Sen could make out, he was tall and stocky, and radiated brute strength just by his posture alone.

“No,” Rick asserted quietly, looking at all of them before stepping over to the front door, “They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out....”

He stared into the little sliver of light seeping through as everyone else stared over at him. The stocky man stepped forward and looked at him with furrowed brows.

“Find out what?” He asked. Everyone looked over at their leader as he stared into the light, his eyes seeming more intense and brighter than ever as he turned to look back at them.

“They're fuckin' with the wrong people...”

 

* * *

 

“ _When I told them about DC, a wink and a nod from the head asshole in charge, they pulled their guns and it was right back to our regularly scheduled shit-storm.”_

Kei followed the sound of the buzzsaw as she carefully stepped through the warehouse. For some strange reason, her heart was pounding. Her muscles felt tense under her skin, and her breathing was coming in shaking, silent pants. The air was different in this room. It felt heavy, almost dizzying. Something wasn't right.

“ _Before they put you in here, you didn't see tyreese?” Sasha asked._

“ _No.” Michonne answered._

“ _...Good.”_

The sound of the buzzsaw stopped. Her hand impulsively went to her necklace, holding Eli's tooth tightly in her palm as she kept walking towards the room where it was coming from.

“ _Black car, with a white cross painted on it,” Daryl spoke, “I tried to follow it. I tried...”_

 

She swallowed hard. Her steps were heavy like there were lead weights attached to her ankles. She could hear voices. And banging. And the muffled cries coming from something.

Or someone.

“ _But she's alive?” Maggie asked him._

_He nodded lightly. “She's alive.”_

She screwed her eyes shut, trying to push the image of ribcages and guts to the back of her head. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, letting it out shakily before opening her eyes again. She let go of her necklace and pursed her lips, her hands balling into fists as she took a firm step forward towards the noise.

They were like animals in the slaughterhouse.

They were lined up against the trough. Rick, Bob, Glenn, Daryl, and four other men who had the misfortune of falling into the trap. They were all forced to get on their knees, their hands and ankles bound with zipties while their mouths were gagged shut with cloth tied around them. Rick slowly turned his head and looked over to each of them, ignoring the ache and the feeling of blood trickling down from the side of his head after being kicked by a terminant. That's what he got for fighting back.

He wasn't done fighting though. Nowhere near done.

And the wooden stake he had tucked away under the cuff of his jeans proved that.

He looked down the line of survivors, his eyes falling to the fearful, doe eyed blonde man at the very end. He was looking back at him, almost as if he was pleading, begging wordlessly for his life. Rick turned his head and looked right over at what the blonde was staring at. A lanky man in a baseball cap was wearing a bloodied makeshift apron made of a shower curtain and a belt. In one rubber-gloved hand was a butcher's steel, and the other was a large knife.

They all cringed as he slid the knife across the steel, the piercing metallic screech filling the air. The leader's eyes flitted over to the slab table only several feet away. Blood was splattered everywhere on the floor around it. A man's body laid on top—stripped of his clothing, as well as the skin on his leg.

His attention quickly went back to the blond. Another man in similar attire hovered over him with a metal bat. He watched as the man swung it in the air a couple times before nodding over to the man with the knife. Just as he did so, he swung the bat around and cracked the blond in the head. The survivor toppled forward before being yanked back by the hair by the man with the knife, his throat simultaneously being slit with ease. Blood started spurting out and everyone down the line minus Rick's group started wailing in fear. They shook and writhed around like fish caught on a hook, unable to do nothing as the butchers went down the line, and slit their throats one by one.

Rick watched as the blood pooled down the trough, his grip on the stake growing tight as they inched closer and closer towards Glenn. There was only one guy left before it was his turn.

The sheriff took in a breath through his nose, a number of plans and scenarios racing through his mind. The man with the knife was closest. He would have to take him out first. The guy with the bat was strong, but slow to swing. It would take up twice as much energy to swing and miss than to swing and hit.

His window was small, he thought, but he could do this, thought. He had to.

“Hey guys?” A familiar voice called out. Rick's eyes flicked over to the entryway, Gareth casually striding through with a notebook and pencil in his hands.

“What were your shot counts for today?”

“38,” The bald butcher answered, swinging his bat around immediately after. The man with the knife yanked the unconscious one back and slit his throat before letting him fall forward again. Rick's insides twisted and his heart started to race. Glenn was next. The two men took a step to the right and loomed over the man like the angel of death. He screwed his eyes shut and winced as the butcher with bat started to rear back.

“Hey!” The man suddenly stopped, looking over to Gareth as he looked over at his fellow butcher. “Your shot count?”

He looked over at the man with the knife, the guy growing hesitant before shaking his head and shrugging.

“Shit, man,” He sighed, “I-I'm sorry. It's my first roundup.”

“After you're done here, go back to your point and count the shells,” The leader instructed, “Kaylee and Kei won't be gathering them until tomorrow.”

He started jotting down the numbers when he heard a soft voice call from behind him.

“...Gareth,”

He turned around and saw Kei standing there at the doorway, her eyes locked onto the line of bodies. She didn't look shocked or frightened. She looked neutral, almost.

“Wh...What's...”

“Kei, you shouldn't be in here,” He said quickly, shutting his book and rushing up to her. He carefully took her hand and started guiding her back, stopping when she didn't budge.

“Kei, this is business,” He said firmly, “Go help my mother out front.”

Her dark eyes flitted over to the line of bodies currently over at the trough. Four dead with their blood being drained. Four alive looking like they'd been through hell and back. Gareth carefully searched her expression, his bright eyes flitting over her blank face. Why wasn't she reacting? This was her group. The ones that she practically idolized in her stories. The man she apparently loved was there at the trough, bound up and beaten and about to be slaughtered like an animal. She had nearly killed Kylee over a _poncho_ that belonged to him. How could she be so cold now that the real thing was standing right there in front of her?

“Kei,” He soothed quietly, taking a step closer to her and cupping her face. He gently turned her head, forcing her to look at him, “I know this looks bad, but they _hurt_ our people. They _killed_ Alex.”

His bright eyes started into her dark ones. He almost visibly shivered. They were so empty. He leaned forward and gently pressed his forehead to hers.

“Please, you have to understand,” He begged quietly, “I don't want to add any more names to the floor in Church...”

The girl's eyes flitted down to the floor before looking back over at Daryl. His jaw bobbed as he stared at the two of them with such fire and intensity. He stared at her like a wolf on the verge of growling and baring it's teeth.

She was sure if he wasn't gagged right now, he would.

She looked back over at Gareth, the Terminus leader's eyes filled with desperation. He was desperate to get through to her, for her to understand.

And she understood clearly.

She reached up and gently touched his whiskery cheek, smiling a faint smile as she nodded.

“It's okay,” She muttered, “It's okay...I understand.”

She watched as Gareth sighed and smiled that warm smile, the one that now made her stomach twist and ache. Still, she smiled, even as he leaned forward and gently touched his forehead against hers.

“It's us or them, right?”

He nodded firmly. “It's us or them.” He shifted and planted a small kiss on her forehead before breaking away, stopping as a bony hand gently gripped his wrist.

“I wanna stay,” She spoke out, “I wanna watch...I need to watch.”

His expression softened and he gripped her hand, giving her a small nod before turning back to return to what he was doing. As he continued to take notes of the current inventory, Kei lingered in the back. Her smile had fallen into a deadpan stare as she eyed the back of Gareth's head. The leader moved around, counting the bodies both dead and alive before stopping. Bob was calling out to him through his gag, pleading over and over for just a minute to talk to him. The leader relented, stepping forward and pulling down the rag so he could hear the doctor's piece.

While everyone else's eyes were on them, Daryl's eyes were glued to his girl. He watched closely as she casually strode across the concrete floor, her footsteps light as she walked over to the slab and briefly stared down at the dead body on top of it.

She didn't react at all to it.

Instead she casually slipped a knife off the slab table, gripping it tight behind her back as she turned and looked over at Gareth.

He'd seen that look before—the cold, empty, menacing stare of a predator about to eliminate it's prey. As Gareth was knelt over on the floor, holding a knife towards Bob in attempts to press Rick for information about the missing supplies bag, Kei was inching closer and closer to him. Daryl's jaw bobbed as he watched her getting closer and closer, her dark eyes glued to the back of his head.

Just then, there was the sound of a sharp crack through the air. Everyone froze up at an instant.

It sounded like a gunshot.

Kei paused and perked up as Gareth stood up straight and looked around in confusion. He brought his walkie up to his mouth and pressed the side button.

“Hey Chuck?”

No answer. A couple more shots popped off in the air before being followed by a loud boom. The effects rattled through the warehouse and shook the place so hard that Kei and the others toppled over. The girl covered her head as pieces of the ceiling started coming down, wincing as the some of the windows shattered and bits of glass rained down on her.

As soon as the explosion ended, the sound of bullets began filling the air. People were yelling frantically over the walkie, and everyone in the warehouse could hear the muffled screams of survivors outside. Gareth and the three others who didn't have their hands and legs bound quickly scrambled to their feet. Kei wiped her dirty pants and coughed as the scent of smoke started to fill the room.

“You stay here,” Gareth instructed firmly towards the two butchers. “Kei! You're with me! Let's go!” The girl opened her mouth to object when the man with the bat beat her to it.

“Aw come on!” He let out, pointing down to the group laying helplessly on the floor, “These guys aren't going anywh—”

“STAY HERE UNTIL I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING!” Gareth barked, his voice making the men almost jump higher than the explosion did. The livid leader rushed over to Kei and grabbed her bony arm, yanking her away from Daryl and Rick and the others.

“I-I should stay with the guys!” She let out.

“NO!” He bit, pulling her into the hallway, “You're coming with me! We need help!”

The girl struggled against his hold, grunting as she writhed and wriggled every which way in attempts to break free.

“No I'm not!” She grit, “Gareth! No.”

She gave her arm one final pull before he stopped in his tracks. He turned his head to look at her, his hard expression falling into something that made her insides twist. His bright eyes narrowed at her.

“You...You're not?”

The girl swallowed hard, shaking her head as she tried pulling her arm away. He gripped it harder.

“I thought...you understood,” He spoke, his voice clearly struggling to keep a level tone. She growled for him to let her go, but it fell on deaf ears as his booming voice made her jump.

“YOU SAID, YOU UNDERSTOOD!” He yelled, gripping the girl's arm tighter to the point where she wailed, “YOU SAID IT WAS US OR THEM!”

She immediately swung her free arm around and the leader felt something hard and sharp slash across his arm. He let out a cry and let go of her, gripping his wound as red started bleeding through the torn area on the sleeve of his jacket. He retracted a little and took a step back as the girl held a knife tightly in her hand.

“I know what I said!” She growled, quickly holding it up as he reached to his side and pulled out his gun. He started to take a step towards her, the girl keeping her knife raised regardless of being outmatched. She stared over at him bitterly, her voice as unwavering. “I choose them. I'll always choose them, over anyone.”

She watched as Gareth's expression darkened into something foul, her own expression doing the same. He slowly started to step back, further and further into the smoke that was starting to pour in from the outside.

“Your friends are going to die,” He promised lowly, “I won't let them leave...”

The girl stared over at him bitterly, wishing right now that _she_ was the one with the gun. He disappeared into the smoke-filled haze, but his voice could still be heard through the fog.

“When this is over,” She heard him call, “ **I'm gonna make you eat them in front of me.** ”

The image of what she'd seen behind the tarp instantly came to mind, and she almost dropped the knife. Her eyes widened, and fear suddenly spiked in her stomach. Her voice caught in her throat, and before she knew it, she was running back to the room like her life depended on it.

She stumbled back into the room crying out Daryl's name. When she looked over at the trough, she saw the 4 bodies that had been killed earlier, but Daryl and Rick and the others were nowhere to be found. Her heart thumped loudly behind her chest as she rushed over to the trough. There were pieces of zip ties everywhere. It looked like they had been cut.

She turned around sharply, seeing the butcher's bodies sprawled out and bleeding on the floor. The girl shut her eyes briefly, tears burning her eyes. They fought back and escaped. Her heart sung for a short moment before she wiped her eyes, mentally bringing herself back to the situation at hand. The others had escaped, but it they were still in danger. She had to get out there and find them.

When she left the warehouse, she almost thought she had entered hell. There was fire, and smoke, people screaming in agony. Things looked like they did when the turn had first begun. Walkers were absolutely everywhere. She couldn't understand how things could have gotten this bad in such a short time.

She didn't have time to marvel though. Walkers were coming her way.

She gripped the knife in her hand tightly and made a break for her apartment, stopping every few steps to stab whatever creature stood in her way. Once she broke through, she clamored up the steps and staggered inside, slamming the door shut as a slew of walkers piled up against it. The girl shut her eyes and tried to catch her breath, mentally amping herself up before running forward and going straight for her room. She grabbed her sword and shoved it into her rucksack, hurriedly putting it on before grabbing her bow and slinging it over shoulder. She then went over to her bed and reached under it, grabbing her gun and her two remaining clips. She bolted out of her room and headed over to the stairs, not looking back once as she hopped onto the banister and slid down.

She made her escape through the side window, the front door no longer being an option. She bolted out out into the courtyard, quickly being met with more walkers and more bullets flying from every direction. She tried to keep focus as she maneuvered around, firing at walker heads and Terminant bodies . She tried not to think about Gareth's words, or the things she had been indirectly doing while she stayed here. She couldn't think about that now. She tried to push it back, but the more she tried, the louder and louder those thoughts seemed to become, and she started to lash back. She screamed and cried as she tackled a walker head on, bringing the butt of her gun down onto it's head with a hard crack. She quickly scrambled to her feet, running through the chaos before finally meeting a chain-link fence. A tattered blanket had been thrown over the barbed wire on top, and before she could even think of what could be on the other side, she clamored up and threw herself over. She landed on the grass with a hard thud, grunting as the harder contents inside her rucksack dug into her back. She winced as she turned her head and looked towards the woods, her eyes widening when she saw a small pack of four legged creatures dart across through the trees. 

* * *

 

The tang of rotted fruit, smoke, and wet earth filled her senses as she ran through the woods. She could see them ahead, running in that familiar, determined stride. Her heart thumped loudly behind her chest, tears burning her eyes as listened to the sound of their paws against the forest floor. She could see their fur, their bushy tails whipping as they ran. They were alive. Seeing them alive made her want to scream and cry in sheer relief. They were alive. Her family, her children....

She could see Ame up front, leading Shadow and Haru through the trees. She smiled brightly, tears of joy starting to creep down her cheeks as she put her fingers together and whistled sharply. She stopped and fell to her knees as the small pack came to a stop and turned around. They looked in her direction, and she had to keep from laughing and sobbing. She wiped her blurry eyes and whistled again and again, Ame being the first to whip forward and run straight to her.

Kei closed her eyes and scrunched up her face with a laugh, turning her head away as she was met with furry bodies, wet noses, and sloppy kisses. The wolves whimpered and tackled her over, licking and nuzzling against her dirty, tear-stained face. She reached over and hugged and kissed them all individually, holding Ame the longest and tightest. She buried her face into his grey fur and shut her eyes, silently thanking God that they were okay, and that they made it out. Haru gently nipped and licked at her shoulder, getting her to let go of Ame and turn to look at him. He huffed lightly and leaned forward, licking away the spare tears that were running down her cheeks. The feel of his tongue tickled her skin and she laughed lightly, gently nudging him away to wipe her eyes and face. She sniffled and stood back up, wiping her nose on her sleeve before looking back down at them.

 _"Gurūpu wa doko ni arimasu ka?_ ”  
Where is the group?

Ame huffed lightly and turned, trotting a few feet forward before looking back at her. Her heart started beating fast again. She stepped forward and followed after him, Haru and Shadow darting around happily by her side.

* * *

 

Carl stared out at the woods, his eyes darting around for the familiar sight of Grey fur. Ame was nowhere to be seen. He thought he would stay close to the bag like the teen had instructed. He huffed a little in disappointment. He never really could get them to listen, not like Kei did, anyway.

Still, he couldn't give up just yet. He let out a sharp whistle, turning around when he heard Abraham, the stocky military man speak.

“The hell are we still around here for?” He asked out, stepping forward to look over at Rick. The leader had knelt down on the ground, suddenly digging through the dirt with a small shovel.

“Guns, and supplies,” He answered, “We go along the fences and use the rifles. Take out the rest of 'em.”

Sen frowned and looked down at him. “Wait, what?”

Rick stopped digging for a second and looked up at him.“They don't get to live.”

The nurse shook his head and looked back at the rest of the group, all of them exchanged weary glances with each other. Glenn swallowed hard before speaking up.

“Rick...We got out,” He reasoned, “It's over.”

Rick pulled out the bag and opened it up, grabbing his colt magnum and checking to make sure it was loaded. “It's not over 'till they're all dead.”

“The _hell_ it isn't!” Rosita, another from Abraham's group, retorted. She pointed back towards Terminus. “That place is on _fire!_ Full of walkers! _”_

“I'm not dickin' 'round with this crap,” Abraham asserted roughly, “We just made it out.”

“The fences are down,” Maggie reasoned as Rick got up from the ground, “They'll run or die...”

The hesitation was clear on the leader's face as he looked at his group. They were all looking at him, a sort of desperation on their faces that could only come from someone who was frightened and spent all at the same time. They all had fought so hard to get out, to keep alive, to find each other again...

His attention went over to Daryl when he saw him suddenly move. He broke off and ran forward like a bullet towards something. He turned to see what it was, his mind reeling when he saw a tiny, grey haired woman entrapped in the hunter's arms.

The others crowded around with their mouth's hung open as Carol hugged him with such warmth and intensity. She smiled brightly, rubbing her teary eyes as Daryl briefly buried his face in her shoulder. He hugged her tighter and let go to take a step back, Rick walking up to the woman and looking at her in both disbelief and with thankful eyes.

“...Did you do that?” He asked, his head tilting back in Terminus's direction. She wiped her eyes again, nodding lightly before opening her arms to accept the hug that the leader gave her.

“ _Thank you,_ ” He muttered honestly, his eyes screwing shut as tears started to burn his eyes. He let go of her and quickly wiped them away, the woman suddenly taking his hands and holding them gently.

“You have to come with me,” She urged softly.

Before Rick could answer, he found himself being pulled off towards some unknown location, Carol now taking the lead as the others followed closely behind her.

* * *

A large man walked out onto the porch with a tiny baby secure in his big arms. A familiar pair of wolves stepped out behind him, loyally standing by his side as the group started approaching the house.

Sen heard the bag drop and watched as Rick bolted forward, running straight for Tyreese and the precious life he held in his arms. Carl wasn't too far behind. He ran right up to his dad as he took baby Judith from Tyreese's arms, the large man's eyes focused on the woman in front of him walking his way.

The sound of rustling went off beside them, and suddenly Ame bounded out from the treeline. Haru and Shadow followed soon after, making a straight beeline for their mother and sister. The wolves barked and nipped at each other in playfulness, greeting one another in their own special way as Rick and Carl and Sasha reunited with their loved ones. The others looked on from a few feet away, the smiles wide on their faces as they watched Rick kiss the side of his daughter's head in thankfulness. Sasha laughed as Tyreese hugged her tight, the large man going as far as picking her up and spinning her around. She buried her face into his thick shoulder, thanking God out loud for bringing them together again.

Sen's smile faltered a little as he wiped his eyes. He tried his hardest to keep back the tears, but they just kept creeping out. This was just all too much for him, for his heart. He knew they were alive, he knew it. Fate had pulled through once again, and brought them all together.

Well, almost all of them.

The thought of her not being here made his heart ache and sink at he same time. If only she were here.

He looked over to Daryl and watched as his jaw bobbed and he shifted in place. He looked antsy, like he wanted to do something, go somewhere.

Then, the sound of rustling went off once more.

He turned around sharply and raised his weapon towards the spot where the wolves had just run out of. He could see something shift behind the trees, heavily treading across the forest floor with sloppy footsteps. He couldn't hear the familiar hiss and gurgle of a walker, but that didn't mean that it wasn't an enemy.

He could see the figure getting closer, their image getting clearer and clearer. He aimed carefully at the head, his heart beat racing before skipping several beats as the figure brushed away the last layer of leaves and branches and revealed themselves to him and the rest who were beside him.

His eyes widened as his mouth slightly dropped at the sight of her. His knees almost gave out. His voice caught in his throat, the words getting stuck and having no chance of coming out.

Her hair was a mess--all puffed out and wavy with the humidity, little twigs and leaves all caught in the strands. Her striking face was brushed with dirt and sweat and flecked with blood. Her clothes were stained with it as well. She looked like she'd been through hell and back, and it only made Sen's eyes burn and well up with tears even more. He slowly lowered his weapon and walked up to her, his lips trembling as the tears started spilling out. There was no stopping it now. She dropped her bags and opened her bony arms, grunting as he took her into the tightest hug on earth.

  
She sniffled and wiped her eyes as the tears started seeping out from the corners, her voice cracking a little as she chuckled and hugged him close.“You've got the ugliest cry face, you know.”

“Shut the fuck up,” He whimpered, burying his face into her bony shoulder. They continued to hold onto to each other like their lives depended on it, not even letting go when the others started crowding around to see her. She let go of Sen with one hand and held it out towards Maggie, the girl gripping it tightly with teary eyes and a bright, thankful smile on her face. When Sen finally let go, she finally had some time to break away and hug everyone else. She touched foreheads with Michonne and gave Bob a careful hug, careful to avoid the bullet wound in his shoulder that was still on the mend since the fight at the prison. She gave Glenn as small hug before letting go, her eyes immediately falling on a the man that stayed further back from the crowd, his jaw bobbing and his thumbnail impulsively going to his mouth.

He looked both conflicted and beside himself, shifting uncomfortably in place. He looked like he didn't know whether to run and tackle her or stay and wait for her to come to him.

She was quick to decide for him.

She bolted forward and jumped right into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and clinging onto him for dear life as he wrapped his arms around and held onto her. She held his face and kissed him all over; on the cheeks, the nose, the lips, on the forehead. She kissed him over and over, trying her hardest to keep from crying her eyes out, but failing horribly. She continued to cry and kiss him, refusing to let go even as he carefully set her back down on the ground. He didn't fight it though. Instead he kept her close, holding her tightly as their lips brushed against one another's over and over.

Daryl buried his face into the crook her neck, gently kissing and running his mouth along the flesh. He indulged in her warmth and her scent, melding against t her touch as she ran her fingers along his scalp and stroked his hair with a single hand. The other lovingly rested over his hands on her stomach, his arms wrapped securely around her waist as he held her close to him. His lips slowly made their way up to her ear lobe, placing a small kiss before whispering something that made her smile lightly and chuckle.

Sen purposefully let out a gagging noise, laughing lightly as the couple eyed him, Kei being much less serious about it than Daryl. The girl stuck her tongue out at her best friend before turning around to face her hunter, finally able to get a good look at him.

And once she looked, her heart sank to her stomach.

A black eye, a cut lip, several bruises. She was in shock. She reached up and gently touched the side of his cheek, the hunter leaning into her touch as her expression softened.

“Your poor face,” She breathed, her tone filled with worry with a hint of bitterness underneath, “Did they do this to you at Terminus?”

He shook his head, his eyes flitting down towards the ground. “Some other assholes...”

She continued to stare at him, her expression pressing him to explain further. He shook his head.

“Ya ain't gotta worry 'bout 'em,” He assured her, “We took care of it.”

She looked intently into his eyes, and could tell that something had happened. Something terrifying, something he was holding back from. But she knew now wasn't the best time to pry. She was back with her group. She was back with him, and that's all that mattered to her now.

She nodded lightly in understanding and leaned into his lips, giving him a sincere kiss. The feel of his lips again made her heart flutter and her stomach twist, much like it did when she kissed him for the very first time.

“I dunno if the fire's still burning,” Rick mentioned, his eyes looking back at the line of dark smoke rising in the distance. The others looked back at it as well, Kei and Daryl breaking their kiss to do the same.

“It is,” Carol stated firmly. Rick looked back at her and nodded.

“We need to go, then.”

“Yeah, but where?” Daryl asked out.

“Somewhere far away from there.” Rick walked back over to Carl and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, smiling lightly as the 14 year old held his baby sister securely in his arms.

The wolves trotted ahead of the group as they all headed down the tracks with what little they had. Sen walked along with Judith in his arms as Carl and Michonne chatted and raced with each other. He smiled brightly and chuckled, his eyes looking over at Daryl and Kei as they walked alongside one another with their hands linked together.

But despite how they held hands, or how they kissed, the nurse could see it on their faces that there was something wrong. There was something that made the girl's light smile falter and the hunter's eyes stare firmly ahead as they walked.

He could see it as plain as day.

Despite them being reunited again, something was terribly off.

And honestly, his heart went out to them, because they weren't the only ones either.

He slowly turned his head to look back at Rick as he stalked along the tracks. He lingered a little further back behind the group, undoubtedly to watch them and make sure they weren't being followed at the same time. When the leader looked over and made eye contact with him, the image of what happened only two nights ago flashed across his mind. The image of blood running down his mouth and neck, the look in his shocking blue eyes as his enemy trembled in fear...

He tried shaking the image out of his head before swallowing hard. He turned back around and walked a little faster, attempting to catch up with the others as Rick continued to linger behind.

* * *

 

He did what anyone would do for the one they cared about.

Carl was on the verge of being killed, of being raped, by scummy plunderers who prided on calling themselves The Claimers. They were a crew of white trash hunters, a crew Daryl had rolled with for a short time, before crossing paths with his old group on the road in the dark.

Rick did what anyone would do for the one they cared about.

He fought. He fought through the pain, he fought through the fists that kept beating him over and over, and finally took the upperhand when the leader of the Claimers grabbed him and held him close.

“The hell're you gonna do now, sport? Huh?!”

He did what anyone would do, when it came down to it.

He dove right into the man's neck and ripped it out with his teeth.

He would never forget how much blood gushed out onto the leader's clothing and face. Or how he spat out the chunk of flesh and muscle and artery before watching the enemy leader topple over. He would never forget how the other Claimers watched in horror before being killed themselves, Michonne and Daryl using the window to fight back.

But most of all, he would never forget the look on his face as he eyed his Son's attacker. He was the last to live, and the last to die.

He would never forget the sound of his voice as he stalked towards the man like a wolf to it's prey. The way his mouth and throat were coated in blood as he growled lowly.

“ _He's_ _ **mine.**_ _”_

  
When he opened his eyes, he stared up the morning sky surrounded by a ring of trees. Carl was sleeping soundly beside him, his hat over his face and his hand over Ame's head as the wolf rested against the boy's stomach. Ren and Shadow slept soundly beside Judith, their sides being used as a warm, furry pillows against her as she slept.

He sat up slowly and looked around. Everyone else was scattered around in their own respective spots, sleeping within the perimeter made from old cans and wires and shoelace strings. When he looked over to his far right, he saw Daryl fast asleep, but the spot next to him was empty.

 

She wasn't really looking for anything when she stared into the trees. She was just sitting there on a fallen tree trunk, just...looking. She stared at all the bark, at all the branches all gnarled and twisted. She looked up at the leaves, and how the sun's light shone down on them. The way the branches stretched out, it reminded her of veins.

And veins reminded her of blood. And meat.

And guts.

She screwed her eyes shut and tried to push back the sickly ache in her stomach. She could feel her heart starting to thump hard behind her chest. “ _Stop it,”_ She thought to herself, “S _top it, stop it, stop it.”_

She brought her knees up to her chest and bowed her head, whining quietly in her throat as she tried to push back the thoughts that kept running through her head over and over. Meat. Blood. Veins. _Stop it._ Meat. Cooking. Chewing. The smell of it burning. _STOP._

Human.

Meat.

Delicious.

She looked up with a soft gasp as a body suddenly sat down beside her. He had two cigarettes dangling from his mouth, and he casually lit them both with his lighter. He sucked in a breath and exhaled smoke in little puffs before handing one to her. She smiled lightly and took it, the two of them sitting there, smoking in silence.

She knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.

“So...” She heard Sen chirp, “You wanna talk about what happened?”

The thought of terminus flashed across her mind, and her eyes fell to the holes in her jeans. She shook her head and shrugged, taking a small hit from her cigarette before taking in a sharp breath. She let it out in a smoky sigh, her eyes flicking over to her best friend.

“Do _you_ wanna talk about happened?”

His mind immediately went to the image of Rick stabbing his son's rapist over and over. He shook his head and swallowed hard, scoffing lightly before sucking down on the filter and inhaling sharply. He tilted his head up and blew the smoke up to the sky.

“It's nothing,” He mused, his eyes wandering over the trees as their leaves rustled in the wind, “What happened, happened. Nothing we can do about it...”

“...Bullshit,” She muttered, taking another hit before taking a breath. She casually blew out the smoke and watched as it faded into the morning air. Sen sat up a little straighter and gently nudged his shoulder against hers.

“Look,” He said with a sigh, earning her attention. “...What happened at Terminus, nobody blames you for—”

“For what?” She asked sharply, her tone of voice still calm as she shot him a look. The man was unphased by it, still looking at her like he always looked at her.

“For being with them,” He answered simply. “You wanted to survive, and you did. You adapted.”

She stared at him for a second, her expression changing into something he couldn't read. The corners of her lips twitched as she scoffed through her nose.

“... _Adapted..._ ” She breathed lightly, shaking her head as she put her cigarette back to her lips. She slowly got up off the log and started walking back towards camp, not saying another word to her friend as he quietly called after her. The man huffed lightly and shook his head, a whole wave of thoughts running through his mind. He quickly tried to push back all the noise and clutter and continued to sit there on the fallen tree, looking up at the sky and the ring of trees surrounding it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHUUUU yeah I kept what Rick said in the comic in the chapter.  
> I freaking LOVED that part guys, it was so intense, and such a badass line.  
> I wish AMC kept it in when the episode aired ;~;  
> but apparently they DID shoot him saying it in one version, ([[x]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oORtfqsRIjw))  
> and after thoroughly watching both versions (bc this is what i do i have no life lmao) i can confirm yes, he's saying it. And that only makes me wish they'd kept that scene in even more ;~;
> 
> well i'm off to study for final exams. I only have 1 week left, god help me! >.


	54. Strangers pt. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We get to start over, you know,” He turned and looked back over at Kei. “All of us. We gotta.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, I swear!! lol   
> A couple people have been messaging me on tumblr and leaving the sweetest lil' comments.  
> I just wanted to say thank you so much for it! They seriously make my day.  
> i love you, lil' babies.<3  
> Enjoy! xx

Daryl stared at her tattoo as she moved, watching as the head of the dragon shifted with her bones and skin. She kept her back towards him the entire time, not saying a word as she laced up her boots. His jaw bobbed, and his eyes briefly fell to the floor.

He didn't know what to say to her, but something in him was just itching to talk to her, to hear her voice.

He sat back up, not saying a word. He scooted closer to her body and leaned forward, gently resting his head against the space between her shoulder blades. She stopped moving. Her heart started to thump hard against her chest, her eyes welling up with tears as her stomach twisted into knots. Her vision blurred as her stinging eyes fell to her knees. She bit her lip, trying to keep from crying as he continued to lean against her. She shut her eyes, little droplets spilling out and hitting her jeans.

He carefully rubbed her back as he leaned on her, not saying a word as she silently cried. He didn't know what to say to her, so he just continued to lean on her and rub her back, silently letting her know he was there.

That only made her cry harder.

She didn't stop until they were on the road again. She just walked along, not really saying much to anyone. She just walked ahead, keeping a fair distance from both Daryl and Sen as they tried to walk up next to her. As they kept trying to get closer, the further away she got, getting away to the point where she walked ahead and went alongside Rick. The hunter huffed lightly, Sen sighing in frustration as he put his hands to his face.

“I'm gonna smack that girl, I swear,” He mumbled into his palms. Daryl chewed on his lip, watching as his girl continued to walk ahead without him.

“...Shouldn't push it,” He said over to the nurse, “She'll talk when she's ready.”

Sen let his hands fall from his face and he gave him a look before rolling his eyes.

“No she won't,” He insisted, picking up his pace and walking after her.

Kei couldn't but crack a weak smile as Ren casually walked alongside Carl. The wolf kept looking up at Judith in his arms, and Judith kept looking down at her, swinging a pudgy hand in her direction and cooing loudly. The other wolves trotted along the treeline, keeping a perimeter around the group as they continued down the road. The only one seeming to have a ball was the scientist Eugene Porter. He sported a dark mullet and a southern drawl thicker than Daryl's. His voice came in out in sharp, articulate sentences, with an occasional big word thrown in here and there. He was severely interested in the wolves and their behavior patterns, and he made it known to Kei just how interested he was.

“Wolves're actually pretty skittish 'round humans,” He explained, “They're not viscious hunters like that movie with Liam Neeson portrayed. Ya see that movie?”

She didn't answer, but he didn't seem to mind one bit.

“Completely inaccurate,” He stated in his robotic tone, “It is a known fact that wolves do not personally pursue a prey like that for that long of a time. Judging by the climate in that movie, and where it may have taken place, I can guarantee there were plenty of other _easier_ animals to hunt—”

“Hey, Eugene?” Another, sweeter voice chirped out. Kei looked back to see Tara smiling lightly at the both of them, “Yeah, sorry. Uh, what's that RPG game you were telling me about the other day? The one with the guy, and the girl, and they can go through other dimensions.”

The doctor's eyes seemed to light up.

“Bioshock Infinite!” He chirped, fully turning his attention over to her now, “And it's not so much that Booker and Elizabeth can travel to other dimensions, it's more like alternate timelines, where they...”

Kei looked over at Tara and flashed a weak, but thankful smile. The girl gave her gave a small wink in response before going back to listening to the scientist's passionate speech about video games. Kei's small smile fell as she went back to looking straight ahead. Straight into nothing but an empty stretch of road.

When it finally became time to stop, the sun was starting to set. Rick had lead them off the small stretch of road and into the woods. They set up camp in a relatively small clearing and built a small fire for them to huddle around. Kei set up her sleeping spot and laid down, Sen laying down next to her with only his bag to act as a pillow. He smiled lightly at her and she cracked a small smile back. It quickly faded when she heard Daryl and Carol offer to take first watch. The two of them started stalking off only a few feet way, whispering quietly to each other at the same time. Kei watched as the wings on his vest disappeared into the dark before she turned away. She looked over at a Sen who was laying on his side, watching her intently, not saying a word. She furrowed lightly at him, his expression unreadable. He looked pained, like he wanted to say something. He licked his lips a little before shifting, Kei watching him the entire time as he started to move.

He slowly reached over and took her hand, gently gripping it in his.

And then suddenly. It felt like they were 13 all over again. Holding hands in the dark, speaking in hushed voices until either of them fell asleep. The gesture made her heart race and her eyes sting as she watched his thumb brush over her knuckles.

“ _Mō, kore made to wa, chigau n’ desu ne_ ,” She mumbled quietly, her dark eyes looking back up at him, “ _Soredarou ka?_ ”  
(things will never be the same, will they?)

His eyes flicked down the leaves on the forest floor, thinking hard for a second before looking back at her.

“... _Un,_ ” He let out in agreement, “ _Demo, watashitachi wa shiyou to suru hitsuyō ga arimasu._ ”  
(...yeah, but we need to try.)

She sniffled lightly and wiped her eyes before reaching over, taking his other hand and holding it tightly. The two of them laid there, their noses only inches away from each other as they held hands like their lives depended on it. She stared him right in the eyes, echos of horror mirroring her own.

“...I ate people at Terminus,” She confessed, the words falling off her tongue like a heavy ball rolling off a high point.

“...I watched Rick rip a guy's throat out with his teeth,” He confessed back, “He also stabbed another guy who tried to rape Carl. Over and over, until his insides were mush...”

The girl blinked a few times before nodding lightly, still gripping his hand as she looked down at their folded fingers.

“ _Hijōshiki tsumori no yōna ki ga shimasu,_ ”  
(I feel like i'm going insane)

He scoffed lightly, smiing a warm smile as he leaned forward and kissed her knuckles.

“ _Hani_ , a _nata wa zutto mae ni kyōki ikimashita._ ”  
(honey, you went insane a long time ago.)

She scoffed through her nose, her best friend laughing lightly before going silent again. He looked at her with a certain warmth and fondness that she couldn't help but smile lightly and feel slightly better at. He continued to hold her hands, firm honesty in his voice as he spoke to her,

“ _Watashitachi wa daijōbudeshou,”_ He assured her, kissing her knuckles once more before letting go. She gave him a small nod in understanding before turning away on her side, struggling to believe it as she shut her eyes and bid her friend goodnight.

That night, she dreamed she had lost her eye. Gareth had cut it out with her own sword, and though it didn't hurt, blood kept running down her cheek and splattered everywhere on the concrete floor. She felt the world was tilted to one side, leaving her to crawl and fumble around for her gun. She turned every which way before stopping, watching as faceless humans surrounded their bodies, ripping out their insides and eating them like their corpses were a platter. They were all there; Maggie, Rick, Sasha, Glenn, Tyreese, Carol, Bob. Everyone was getting eaten, the faceless humans tearing them apart more viciously than any walker she'd seen. She tried screaming out for them, but her voice wasn't coming out. She tried and tried before gripping her throat, her eye widening when she felt it wasn't there. She lifted her hand, seeing it covered in blood. When she looked to her right, she was staring into the reflection of her sword, dark red running down her neck.

When she turned and looked forward, Rick stood there with blood running down his mouth and a sick smile on his face. Shadow and the wolves stood loyally at his side, baring their teeth. Judith wailed his arms, blood splattered on her sweet little face.

Rick looked down at her, his wolfish grin growing wider. Kei shook her head rapidly and mouthed for him to stop. He slowly tilted the baby's head back, eyeing her neck and leaning in slowly. Kei continued to try and scream, blood continuing to gush out of her throat and splash onto the floor.

She screwed her eyes shut, Judith's cries growing louder and louder before it was becoming too much.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Sen bobbing up and down with Judith crying in his arms.

“Shhhh, honey, shhh,” He cooed, gently rocking her and kissing the side of her head. He turned over towards Carl. “Can you get me her bottle, please?”

The young teen agreed and started rummaging through the bag. He pulled out a baby bottle full of water and handed it over to him, the young nurse taking it and carefully giving it to the baby girl. Her crying instantly ceased as she suckled away, Sen sighing heavily before looking over at Kei.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” He greeted, “We're gonna be leaving soon.”

She nodded lightly before looking over at Judith. Her skin was perfectly clean, and her neck was untouched.

 

The wolves excitedly bounded around her as she and the group started to move again. They carried on through the woods, Bob and Sasha having a casual conversation about finding the good things out of the bad. Their little exchange was cute, in the least. It made the girl smile lightly, watching them being so enamored with each other without physically displaying so. They shared little kisses here and there, Sasha smiling brightly and chuckling. Bob looked at her like she was the whole world and more, and it made Kei's stomach twist and drop at the same time. Daryl looked at her like that sometimes.

And speaking of the hunter, he was nowhere to be found. She furrowed and stopped in her tracks, looking around every which way.

Just then, she heard shifting coming from somewhere in front. She looked forward and whipped out her gun, everyone else in the group doing the same. They pointed their weapons forward towards the figure stepping out from the brush. The minute she saw the dark leather jacket and the string of dead squirrels, she lowered her gun with a sigh of relief.

Daryl stepped out and looked to all of them without an ounce of fear. Instead, he gave them an odd look, raising his hands in defense.

“We surrender,” He quipped out, everyone lowering their guns and continuing forward through the woods . Kei watched as Daryl walked up next to Rick and kept up along with him, his voice lowered in a harsh whisper.

“No tracks, no nothin',” She heard him say.

Rick nodded lightly. “So whatever you heard last night...”

“S'more what I felt,” Daryl muttered, “If someone was watchin' us, there would've been somethin'...”

The girl furrowed lightly and looked around. She couldn't see much through the trees, but if someone was there, surely they would know, right? The wolves would've caught their scent, they would've heard something...

Her ears perked up when she heard a soft whistle. Rick was looking back at her, signaling for her to come to him.

“Keep close!” He whispered out. She gripped the straps of her bag and picked up her pace, rushing up next to Sen, the guy dragging his feet along the forest floor as he started walking past the leader.

“Tighten it up,” Rick muttered softly, placing a hand on Sen's shoulder. She watched as her best friend almost visibly tensed up like a animal to a strange touch. He flashed a strained smile before quickly looking away, picking up the pace a little more as Rick lingered behind to get the others to keep up. Kei caught up with him and took hold of his hand, getting him to slow down a little and look at her. She gave a smile, a very weak one, but a smile that made him smile back. He gently gripped her hand and the two of them continued to walk together. Her eyes went forward as she watched Daryl stalk along ahead of everyone. They fell to the string of dead squirrels draped over his shoulder, their little bodies dangling and bobbing lifelessly as he moved.

And immediately she thought of the bodies carved up and dangling lifelessly in the warehouse.

Her heart suddenly jumped and her stomach started to twist. That sickly, awful feeling stared creeping up on her again. It made her chest tighten and her heart race faster and faster. She screwed her eyes shut tight and tried to push it back. She took a deep, shaking breath through her nose and let it out, her eyes snapping wide open when she heard a loud scream.

The wolves suddenly perked up and bolted ahead, darting forward like streaks of lightning. Carl started making a break for it before stopping, turning around sharply to face his dad.

“Come on!” He called out. The screaming becoming more and more desperate by the second. Rick looked at his son hesitantly, the boy calling him over and over to come on.

“Dad! Please!” He begged out, watching as his father finally nodded. The group then moved forward with their weapons out, following the small pack of wolves as they went straight for the source of the cries for help.

When they finally found it, they saw a small group of walkers surrounding a large boulder, their mangled hands raised to high heaven towards the figure clamoring on the rock. A man was flailing around, screaming for his life as he tried to kick them away with his foot. The walkers continued to claw at him, one actually managing to catch his pant leg before being kicked in the face. Ame darted forward and clamped it's jaw on a walker's ankle, violently jerking his head around as he attempted to get the walker to fall over. The other wolves soon joined him, followed by Rick and the rest of the group as they got ride of the walkers. Kei carefully reached in back of her and slid out her sword, listening to the metal sing before swinging it around with a loud grunt. She watched as her blade cut into the back of a walker's skull, blood sputtering out as she cut off the very top. She turned around sharply as another came staggering towards her, the girl huddling back as the creature came in too close for comfort. She started bracing herself when Carol suddenly came charging in, tackling the walker and pinning it to the large boulder in front of her. She raised her free hand high and brought her knife down onto the top of it's head, grunting sharply before yanking it out.

Right then, another walker came stumbling in, going right for Carol. Kei managed to run straight for it and stab it in the shoulder when an arrow suddenly came flying in from the right. Her eyes widened as Daryl's bolt smacked right into the walker's head, the creature instantly going limp before falling off the blade and crumpling to the floor.

And then, there was silence. Silence that was broken by the sound of everyone's heavy panting and harsh breathing. The wolves continued to growl and huff, their piercing eyes staring right up at the fearful human still perched on top of the large rock.

“We're clear!” Rick let out, his eyes looking over at Sen and a few others that were spread out, “Keep watch!”

The leader stepped up to the boulder and looked up at the man, his voice softening and lowering at the same time.

“Come on down.”

Kei could see him shaking from where she stood. He carefully made his way down onto the ground before pinning his back against the rock. He refused to make eye contact with any of them. He started swaying awkwardly in place, keeping his lips pursed to a thin line. Rick furrowed at him and his strange behavior.

“You okay?”

The man held up an index finger before turning away, instantly heaving up everything he ate onto the forest floor. Kei winced and immediately looked away, trying to block out the disgusting sounds he made as he continued to vomit.

Thankfully, it didn't last long. He wiped his mouth and stood back up straight, composing himself as best as he could. He was a small man. His voice was soft and meek, which made her realize just how sheltered he was. It wasn't harsh and rigid like theirs, not filled with wariness or mistrust or any of the small elements that hinted to the trauma they had all gone through.

He introduced himself as Father Gabriel, and Rick immediately asked him if he had any weapons. The small man chuckled out loud, briefly looking over at Kei as if he was asking if the man in front of him was serious. When he looked back at Rick's expression, he'd gotten his answer. The priest swallowed hard before holding out his hands.

“Do I look like I would have any weapons?”

“We don't give two short and curly's what it looks like,” Abraham grit.

“I have no weapons of any kind,” He announced out, his posture going a little straighter as he spoke, “The word of God is the only protection I need.”

Daryl scoffed. “Sure didn't look like it.”

Gabriel looked to him, a sincere, sweet smile flashing across his face. “I called for help...Help came...”

Kei continued to look him over. Her eyes narrowed. This man, he was so...weak. He was like a rabbit, so timid and shaken...How was he able to survive this long without a weapon? There was no way. He had to have had a weapon, a story, something that he did that changed everything for him. There was no way that the little sparkle in his eye and the warm tone in his voice was genuine. There was no way. Not in this world, and what it is now. Something had to be wrong with him.

“Do you, uh...” His timid voice ripped Kei from her thoughts. She looked over at him as he looked at Rick, that little sparkle in his eye still shining, “Do you...have any food?...W-whatever I had left, it just hit the ground.”

“We got some pecans,” Carl offered out, holding out a few in the palm of his hand. Gabriel reached out and carefully took them, the light never leaving his dark, doe-like eyes.

“Thank you,” He peeped, sincerity dripping from his voice.

Judith let out a soft coo from Tyreese's arms, and Gabriel looked to her with hope radiating from his face.

“That's a beautiful child,” He spoke, seeming to miss everyone's expressions hardening as they shifted uncomfortably in place. Rick continued to stare at the priest, his face never changing, not saying a word. The silence was awkward and stifling, and the tension was high in the summer air. Gabriel swallowed hard and looked down at his hands, his head lowering slightly.

“Do you have a camp?” He asked out.

“No.” Rick said quickly, his tone deadpan, “Do you?”

Kei watched as the small man's doe-eyes widened slightly. He hesitated for a second, before finally answering. “I have a church.”

“Hold you hands above your head,” Rick spoke, his tone still soft, but demanding. Gabriel obliged, slightly raising his hands and tensing as the Leader started to frisk him for any weapons.

“How many walkers have you killed?” He asked, checking the mans sides.

“None, actually,” The man answered thoughtfully.

Rick turned the man around, checking the shoulders of his blazer and down the sides of his arms. “How many people have you killed?”

The priest furrowed, shaking his head in confusion. “N...None.”

Rick knelt down and checked the sides of the man's ankles before standing back up again.

“Why?”

“Because the Lord abhors violence,” He answered simply. The leader furrowed, knowing full well that there was something there in his voice, and in the fearful look on his face. There was something some there...there always was. No one was innocent.

“What have you done?” He asked, his voice lowering into a harsh whisper. The priest didn't answer, his expression faltering and shifting all at once. Rick continued to stare at him, his eyes never leaving the priest's. “We've all done something...”

The small man faltered, keeping his lips pursed and his eye contact with the leader brief, looking at every other face before taking a breath and looking at Rick. “I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day, but those sins, I confess them to god...not strangers.”

“You said you had a church?” Michonne asked, getting a word in before Rick could retort. Gabriel turned to her and nodded lightly, the woman holding a hand out towards the woods, wordlessly asking him to lead the way.

Kei kept the grip on her toward tight as she followed behind Gabriel. An air of caution still loomed over her and the wolves. Neither of them trusted him. He was hiding something. He could be leading them into a trap, and the girl wasn't about to fall for it a second time. She was done trusting people. Reality gave her that wake-up call.

Her grip on her sword grew tighter as she eyed the back of his head. If the man was to turn on them, she would take it right off.

“Hey, earlier,” Rick called over to the priest, “Were you watching us?”

Gabriel shook his head. “I keep to myself,” He answered simply, “Nowadays people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?”

“Nah, people are worse,” Daryl huffed.

“Well I wasn't watching you,” He insisted, “I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today.”

 _Bullshit._ The girl thought.

“Well, maybe I'm lying,” He said suddenly, his tone eerily bright and cheerful, “Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels.”

Kei gripped her sword tight and her expression went from wide-eyed to menacing within seconds. Ame started growling lowly in his throat and the girl started stepping towards him. Right as she started moving, a familiar body suddenly brushed past her and touched her arm, stopping her in place. Daryl looked at her as he stepped up beside her, the look on his telling her to hold off for a second. Gabriel looked over and saw her foul expression and swallowed hard, chuckling weakly before looking back at Rick.

“M-Members of my flock have told me my humor leaves something to be desired.”

“Yeah it does,” Daryl quipped, gently gripping Kei's wrist and pulling her ahead. The girl glared over at Gabriel the entire time before she moved ahead, walking alongside her hunter through the woods.

It wasn't long before they reached a modest-sized church in the middle of a clearing. St. Sarah's Church, was the name. Kei stared at the building with great curiosity, the feeling building once they reached the cherry-wood double doors at the front. She had never set foot in a church before, not even for holidays like Christmas or Easter. Neither of her families were particularly religious, but she remembered her friends lamenting about being stripped of the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday mornings.

When Gabriel stepped up to the front doors, Rick stopped him from opening them up. He stepped up instead and took the keys, insisting that he and his group check the inside first.

“We just wanna hold on to our squirrels,” He quipped, the small priest smiling lightly before stepping back. Rick slipped out his gun and opened up only one door, the wolves bolting in and immediately spreading out to sniff the area. He kept his gun raised as he stepped into the dark, Michonne right behind him with her rifle pointed. Kei started to move to go in next, but Daryl carefully pulled her back a little before stepping in front of her. He held up his crossbow as he went up the steps and into the church.

* * *

After the Church was deemed secure, everyone stepped inside and checked the place out. Carol was looking around in Father Gabriel's office, Michonne and Glenn checked out the bathrooms and the playroom, Maggie and Sasha checked the storage closets. While the rest hung out in the main area of the church, Kei stepped into a small room and looked around with great curiosity. This place was really well kept, despite it being the end of the world. No broken windows, no blood stains, not even a single walker looming around...

“Found blankets,” Daryl announced, stepping out from the small storage closet. Kei muttered a small 'hmm', in response. She looked around the small room, her eyes stopping on a wood carving hung up on the wall to her right. The figure in the middle was Jesus, obviously, and he was surrounded by men at a table. She didn't quite understand what was happening.

“What's this?” The hunter turned to look at what she was pointing at. His eyes went from the carving to her, an airy scoff leaving his nose.

“Ain't ever heard of the last supper?”

She frowned at him and shook her head, watching as he sighed and set down the blankets. He walked up next to her and looked at the carving. He pointed to the man in the middle.

“S'the last meal Jesus ate before he died,” He pointed down to the wooden table. “He gave 'em bread and wine, saying it was his body and blood, and made 'em eat it.”

“Why?” She asked, looking over the odd scene.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Wouldn't ya wanna eat ya loved ones before you died?”

Her stomach suddenly twisted and she shot him an odd look. “What?”

“Wouldn't ya wanna eat with ya loved ones before you died?” He asked again. The knot in her stomach unwound and she let out a small sigh, her heart thumping hard behind her ribcage. She must've heard wrong. She smiled weakly at him and shrugged, going back to looking at Jesus and the peculiar scene. Her eyes flitted over the intricate details and the movement of the design, only stopping when she could see Daryl still looking at her from the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly to look at him, watching as his jaw bobbed and he chewed on his lip.

“I want ya to tell me what's wrong,” He admitted suddenly, his harsh voice lowered into a mutter. Her thoughts immediately went back to Terminus, and she shoved them back as fast as they appeared. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat before shrugging lightly at him. She didn't say a word. His eyes went to the floor before looking back at the carving.

“Doesn't have to be now,” He reassured, “But I want ya to tell me.”

The sickly feeling came back again—the ugly, aching twisting and knotting of her stomach. She swallowed hard and nodded lightly, her lips curling between her teeth to keep words from coming out. Her eyes fluttered shut on impulse as the hunter stepped up to her and leaned in close, the prickly hairs of his chin tickling her cheek as he kissed it. He held his lips there for a second before breaking away, the girl slowly turning her head to kiss him right back on the lips.

The sickly feeling only got worse. And in response she broke away a little to quick for comfort. She avoided his eyes, and any further contact with him as she stepped away and went back out into the Nave of the church.

When Daryl stepped back out, he saw Rick and Michonne preparing to leave on a supply run. Bob and Sasha offered to go as well. Father Gabriel was forced to go with, seeing as Rick and everyone else trusted him as far as they could spit. He seemed harmless enough to the wolves, though. But that could have been because of the terrified look he gave them every time they went near him. He was unafraid to show just how fearful he was, especially when he looked over in Kei's direction, and watched how she interacted with them. She'd mumble little words here and there to them, and they would respond in their body language, nipping and licking at her chin, whipping their tails around. Whenever they'd growl, she'd growl back, both of them flaring their teeth at each other. Gabriel turned away at the sight looking a mix between ashamed and sickened. He hurried over to Rick's side, looking nervous as the leader continued his conversation with Sen. The leader stepped up to him and he instantly took a small step back, giving him a weak smile and nodding as Rick continued to speak to him. The hunter continued to watch their exchange, and it was clear that something was wrong between them. Sen's body language was similar to Kei's—Tense, distant...

Rick put his hand on the Sen's shoulder, and Sen slowly shifted away, still smiling weakly before saying something to him in response. Rick let his hands fall to his sides before nodding lightly, his eyes briefly falling to the floor before he turned away towards the exit. Gabriel trailed after him with Michonne, Bob, and Sasha following closely behind.

Sen watched from afar while Tyreese and Carl played with Judith on the floor. They found a few old toys in the little playroom where Sunday School used to take place. The little baby was ecstatic, letting out the occasional chirp and high pitched ' _gah!_ ' before sloppily tossing a toy only a mere foot away. Ren was quick to retrieve it for her, nudging them back to her pudgy feet before the process started all over again. The sight made Sen smile lightly, his expression quickly falling as his eyes fell on the marking on Carl's cheek. The injury he obtained from fighting off his attacker the night he was almost raped. The night Rick showed everyone just how far he was willing to go to keep his family safe.

He swallowed hard as he screwed his eyes shut. He could still hear the blood gushing out from the Claimer's neck.

Thankfully it was cut off by a soft, sharp whistle. He opened his eyes again and saw Daryl walking up to him, the hunter taking a seat beside him on the steps. They didn't say anything to each other at first. They just watched as Carl and Tyreese played with Judith, the wolves occasionally joining in as they chewed on the toys she didn't bother to play with.

The two men's eyes went over to Kei as she walked out from the sunday school room. She didn't say a word to anyone. She just walked over to the pews and started pulling off the cushions one by one. Sen's eyes flicked over to Daryl, watching as his jaw bobbed up and down, his expression looking like a mix between wounded and hesitant.

He let out a small sigh and leaned back in his seat. “I wouldn't get my hopes up. You two are a match made in heaven, the way you two keep shit bottled in.”

“...Was gonna say she takes after you,” Daryl muttered with a soft scoff, “You're the same way...”

He turned his head and looked at him. “You okay?”

It was a long minute before the lanky man said anything back. “Peachy,” He answered, swallowing a little as his eyes fell to the floor. “I just...I got a lot of shit on my mind...”

Daryl looked at him, his lips twisting to the side as his jaw impulsively bobbed. He could see it on his face—the same haunted look that Kei wore on hers.

“We get to start over, you know,” He turned and looked back over at Kei. “All of us. We gotta.”

Sen's eyes went from the floor over to Kei, watching as she continued to work by herself without saying a word to anyone.

“...Yeah.”

 


	55. Strangers pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good news is...you're not dead yet,” He mused, scooting closer to the girl so he could pat her on the knee, “That's a relief, right?”

“You sure you're okay, Kei?” Carl asked. The two of them casually walked along outside, checking the church's perimeter while the wolves went out to hunt. The girl nodded lightly, her eyes falling to the dead leaves that covered the ground.

“I'm fine,” She muttered, looking over at him with a weak smile. “Promise.”

“You're not like those people back there,” He assured her, still looking around as they walked along. “If that's what you're worried about.”

She shook her head. “It's not that...”

“Honestly, I just hate myself,” She said, a soft, broken chuckle in her voice. “I probably could have done something back there, if I had been paying attention...” Her eyes fell back down to her boots. “I can't help but wonder how many people got killed while I was there.”

Carl looked over at her and the wounded expression on her face. His lips twisted to the side in thought before looking forward again.

“I know it's not good to think like that,” She added, “But it's all I can think about...”

“...I know, I have thoughts like that too,” He admitted, “But we're together again, you know? And you're not sick anymore. I think that's enough.”

She looked over at the young teen and smiled weakly, taking his hand and holding it gently. “It's more than enough.” He smiled back at her and nodded, his smile fading as they continued walking, inspecting the side of the church.

“Things could've have gone the other way. It's good we found each other when we did,” He briefly looked down at his shoes, gently scuffing the dirt, “Especially after what happened back at the prison...”

The girl nodded, the memory of what happened flashing across her mind. So much smoke, and fire, and blood...

“I miss Hershel,” She heard him say, his voice cracking slightly. He sounded hurt, like he was going to cry. She gently squeezed his hand and nodded, a familiar feeling making her eyes sting and her throat swell.

“I miss him too,” She admitted quietly, “And Beth.”

“Yeah,” He nodded, sniffling and quickly wiping his nose. He looked back up and stared over at the church's walls, stopping suddenly in place. He tilted his head and walked up closer to the Church's siding, Kei following him with knitted brows. He put his free hand against the chipped white paint.

“Look,” He spoke, pulling her closer to look at what he was pointing at. She leaned in and stared at the strange markings in the paint. It wasn't your usual wear that you would get from weather over time, these markings were deliberate, forced. They were scratches. Markings made too deep to be by fingernails from desperate hands. It looked like they were made with something sharp, like a knife. She frowned and kept holding Carl's hand, the two of them following the markings all the way around to the back of the church. Both their eyes fell onto a single panel on the church's siding, something etched deep in the wood so it could be read as plain as day.

_**YOU'LL BURN FOR THIS.** _

Kei's stomach dropped and her heart started to sink and race at the same time. She felt Carl's grip on her hand grow tighter, and she could feel his racing pulse in his palm.

“We gotta show my dad,” She heard him say. She nodded firmly, her stomach twisting as she stared at the message. This only proved her point more. There was no denying it now. Gabriel was hiding something. Something bad.

“Kei,” She heard Carl say, gently shaking her hand to get her to look at him, “Whatever it is, we can handle it.”

She looked down at the teen and nodded firmly, looking back at the message with a dark frown. She would handle it, alright.

* * *

 

Rick and the others came back with more than any of them had expected. 3 whole totes full of canned food. While Glenn and the others sorted through it, Sen was on nanny duty while Tyreese checked on Sasha and Bob. Apparently they ran into a little trouble with walkers at the local food bank. Thankfully, they call came back alive.

Judith continued to coo and gush as she occasionally handed Sen a toy to play with. The dark haired man took it with a big smile and bright and cheery “Thank you!” before playing with it. This cycle went on for minutes, sharing toys and babbling to each other, Judith occasionally letting out a random word that was close to sounding like english, but not quite. He kind of wondered what her first word would be, and who would be there to witness it. Nobody had a working video camera. It would kinda suck if Rick or Carl weren't there to witness it...or him.

The more he spent time with her one-one-one, the more he realized he loved her, and that babies weren't so bad after all.

There was a sudden soft knock on the playroom door and he turned to see who it was. Rick stood there in the doorway, a warm smile growing on his face at the sight of the two of them with toy blocks on the floor. He stepped inside and slightly shut the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack before stepping forward. Sen picked Judith up and held her as he stood up straight, the smile on his face faint as the leader walked up to him.

“I've been lookin' for ya,” He muttered quietly, smiling as he leaned in. He tried giving the man a kiss, but Sen quickly leaned away, still smiling as he held Judith out to him.

“And look who came to see you,” He said with an airy chuckle, “She's been fussing since you left.”

Rick smiled brightly at his daughter with a cheery “Hi, sweetheart”. He carefully took her into his arms, gently bobbing her up and down before looking over at Sen. His bright smile immediately started fading.

“You wanna tell me what's wrong?”

Sen reached forward and gently petted the back of Judith's head. He looked over at Rick with his eyebrows raised. “Hm?”

“Somethin's wrong,” He repeated, “You're not yourself.”

The taller man furrowed lightly before scoffing, shrugging his shoulders. “I don't get what you mea—”

“Don't bullshit me,” He rasped quietly, the young man straightening a little more out of offense. “Please don't. You've been acting this way since--”

“Since I saw you rip another man's throat out?” Sen bit back, his voice lowering in a harsh whisper as Judith cooed, “Yeah, can't say I'm too in the mood after seeing that!”

“I did what I—!“ His voice went quiet, the man taking a deep breath through his nose before his voice lowered to a whisper, “I did what I had to! To keep everyone safe!”

“I never said you didn't!” Sen rasped, “I just--!” He paused, taking a much needed breath and letting it out in a heavy sigh.

“I can't get it out of my head,” He admitted, “Seeing you like that. So...gone...”

Rick's lips pursed into a thin line and he swallowed hard, his thoughts racing a mile a minute as he tried to think carefully of what to say.

“...I need time,” He heard him say.

And immediately his stomach sank.

His heart started burning and aching at the same time. He didn't think he'd hear those words again. He hadn't heard them since before the turn. He hadn't heard them since Lori.

He let out a wry scoff, a hand going to his unshaven face as his fingers rubbed over his whiskers. “You mean you need to keep away from me.”

Sen shook his head immediately.

“No, I mean I need time to just... _process it,_ ” He said carefully. He heard Rick scoff and watched him shake his head. “I still like you, Rick.”

“Don't,” The leader muttered, shaking his head and stepping away towards the door. Sen stepped after him, the desperate tone still clear in his hushed voice.

“I do! Honest—”

“Don't!” He bit sharply, his voice making the man jump slightly. He took a deep breath, and shook his head. His tone came out a lot softer this time. “Don't—Just...don't. I get it.”

Sen bit his bottom lip and kept silent, his expression still pining for his leader to understand. This wasn't what he thought it was. It wasn't! He still cared. He still cared about him, and he thought it was still obvious, but the look Rick was giving him  turned back around and made a straight beeline out the door.

“Take all the time you need.”

* * *

 

Evening time rolled around, and a feast was held in the main area of the church. Bowls were laid out across the table, everything illuminated by a bunch of candles father Gabriel had stashed for Sunday services. Everything felt warm with the dim lighting and everyone's excited chatter, and the clinking of wine glasses as everyone toasted to a successful day. Kei limited herself to a couple scoops of canned beans and fruit before pouring herself a half glass of wine. She sat down beside Bob and Sasha, Daryl sitting directly across from her, chewing away at some cooked squirrel. Ren rested her head on his lap, looking up at him with begging eyes, her ears twitching and her throat letting out a pitched whimper. He relented and fed her the rest of it, the red wolf inhaling it with a wagging tail. He looked over and saw Kei smiling lightly, chuckling before going back to her own meal.

Her own little meal. Far too little. Daryl's jaw bobbed impulsively at the sight of it. She needed to eat more. Way more. Especially after being so sick before.

He carefully got up from his seat and crawled over to Kei, sitting down beside her as she continued to eat and focus on the conversations that went on around her. Daryl said nothing to her as he ate. Only when he scraped away a part of his share and dumped it on her plate did he say, “Here.” before going quiet again. She looked down at it for a solid minute, her lips curling between her teeth. Her stomach twisted and ached and she took a deep breath. It wasn't meat, she thought. It wasn't meat. It wasn't...

She stuck her fork in and started eating it, Daryl visibly relaxing beside her. As Abraham stood up and started to talk, the girl rested her head on the hunter's shoulder, shifting to kiss it gently.

“Thank you,” She mumbled quietly into his skin. He turned and kissed the side of her head, keeping his lips there for good couple of seconds until Abraham's voice broke the chatter.

“I'd like to propose a toast!” He spoke out, holding up his wine glass. Everyone quieted down and looked over to him, his eyes on everyone.

“I look 'round this room and I see survivors,” He began, “Each and every one of ya has earned that title...”

He held his glass high, a smile stretching across his mustached face. “To the survivors!”

“Survivors!” Everyone cheered, raising their glasses and clinking them with each other's. Kei reached over and gently clinked her glass with Daryl's, both of them taking a hearty sip before sharing a small kiss. The hunter could feel her smile against his lips and he kissed her deeper, only breaking away once Abraham started talking again.

“That all you wanna be?” He asked all of them, no one saying a word in response. “Wake up in the mornin', fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep with two eyes open, rinse n' repeat?”

Again, not a word.

“Cause you can do that,” He offered simply, “I mean, ya got the strength and the skill...The thing is, for you people, for what you _can_ do, well that's just surrender. When we get Eugene to Washington he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again and that is not a bad take away for a little roadtrip.”

Judith let out a soft coo, leaning against her father's chest as he softly shushed her and kissed the top of her head.

“Eugene,” the stocky man called. “What's in DC?”

The man with the mullet stood up a little straighter, gently clearing his throat. “Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even at this FUBAR magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge...restart.”

A restart, the girl thought. She could a restart. A restart on everything. But could any of them really do that now? So much has happened. They lost so many people...

“However this plays out,” Abraham spoke, as if reading the girl's thoughts right then and there, “However long it takes for the reset button to kick in, _you'll be safe there_. Safer than you been since this whole thing started....”

His eyes flicked over to Judith before looking at Rick. “Come with us. Save the world for that little one...”

He then looked to everyone else. “Save it for yourselves...Save it for the ones out there, who got nothin' left to do 'cept survive...”

The room was dead silent, everyone exchanging glances with each other before looking over at Rick. The leader looked down at his daughter as she fussed around in his arms, gurgling and cooing before letting out a strange noise.

“What was that?” He asked her with a smile, the others around him chuckling. He looked over at Abraham, then to the others. “I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in.”

He looked over at the rest of his group, his family, smiling honestly. “We're in.”

Tyreese clapped and let out a firm “yeah!” as everyone else laughed and cheered in approval. Michonne let out a heavy sigh of relief, nodding at his decision wholeheartedly.

After the decision was made, everyone went back to eating and holding their own private conversations with each other. Kei turned slightly and gently rested her head on Daryl's shoulder.

“So we're going then,” She sighed, her eyes staring down at the holes in the knees of her jeans.

“Mhm,” He mumbled, dropping some more squirrel meat into his mouth. The girl smiled softly as he continued to eat, her hand gently picking at the frayed pieces of string on her jeans.

“We're gonna be okay,” She said softly, shifting to look up at him. “Right?”

He finally finished and set his plate down onto the floor, Ren inching over to lick up the remains as he looked over at Kei. The gir looked back at him, her eyebrows falling into a slight frown as he slowly started to lean in. He kept his eyes on her the whole time, his face deadpan. She leaned back slightly before learning in, unsure if he wanted to kiss her or tell her something. His lips were only few good inches away from her own, and she was about to close to the gap, but suddenly he licked his fingers loudly right in front of her. He knew she hated that. The girl rolled her eyes and gently nudged him away with an airy laugh. Daryl leaned in further and nuzzled her cheek, his facial hair gently tickling her skin and causing her to squeak in her throat. She tried to nudge him away and failed, his big arms suddenly draping around her and pulling her close. He kissed her cheek hard before letting go, snickering as she leaned away and furiously rubbed her cheek with the smile still on her face.

Their laughter with each other died down as everyone around them continued on with their conversations. The girl looked over at her man with a faint smile. Faint, but loving. She forgot how much she missed it. The way he looked at her. How his eyes occasionally flicked down to her lips when she talked. She could see it behind those steely blues—He missed her. He still missed her, despite everything that happened, everything she did...

“We're gonna be fine,” He mumbled quietly, leaning in to peck her lips. “You an' I are gonna be fine.”

She shut her eyes as her heart thumped hard behind her chest. She swallowed hard and nodded, her weak smile turning into a full on grin as she pressed her lips against his. She slowly brought a hand up and gently cupped the side of his whiskery cheek, her lips never leaving his as they continued to kiss. It was oddly romantic, being so intimate with the dimmed candelight and the warmth of the wine flowing through her veins. If it wasn't for the 13 extra bodies in a room considered holy, she would have loved to have taken this to the next step. To just slip off his shirt and vest and kiss him all over, and then have him do the same until they were under a pile of blankets, making love for days on end. The very thought sent a sense of longing and heat coursing through her, eliciting a very faint moan from her mouth before Daryl broke away. He chuckled softly and kissed her square on the nose, then the cheek, before both their attention briefly went to the figure that carefully stepped past them. Carol slipped away from the crowd and started making her way to the door, Summer loyally trailing behind her. She didn't say a word to anyone, not even as she and the young wolf slipped out, and the woman carefully shut the door behind them.

Daryl had watched them the entire time, his expression hardening with concern as his jaw bobbed out of impulse. Kei was just about to ask him what was wrong, but before she could, he started to get up.

“Wha—Daryl,” She said in confusion, furrowing as he got up off the ground and walked across to grab his crossbow off the pew. She got up and trailed after him, turning back once to instruct Ren to stay as she started to get up from her spot on the floor.

“Where are you going?” She asked as she stepped out into the warm night air. The crickets were as loud as ever tonight, and she could barely see past what little light the church was giving off.

“Gotta make sure she's okay,” She heard Daryl mumble, his eyes still pointed towards the darkness of the woods. He could still hear Carol's footsteps going further into the woods. If he hurried, he could catch up to her in time.

“Daryl!” She whispered out, reaching forward to gently take his wrist and tug him back. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her, seeing the worried expression on her face. Her bottom lip momentarily curled between her teeth before going normal again. She hesitated, her voice getting lost and mixed up in her racing thoughts. She didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, her expression said all that it needed to for him.

_Wait. Don't go._

His own expression softened, and for a brief moment he let out a small sigh through his nose. He stepped back up to her and she shut her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead.

“S'okay,” He muttered, breaking the small kiss to look at her, “Just go back inside. I'll be back soon.”

He felt her grip the hem of his vest before she nodded lightly, her head tilting up to look at him. He leaned down and gave her a firm kiss before stepping back, heading into the dark with just his crossbow in tow. The girl held her arms and stood there, listening as his footsteps grew quieter the further he went. It wasn't long before there was just the chirping of the crickets and the sounds of the trees as they creaked with the gentle breeze that blew by.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, telling herself over and over that he'd be okay.

The front door suddenly opened up and she jumped with a start, tumbling back and keeping herself pinned against the wall. She watched from the shadow as Bob stepped out and shut the door behind him, not seeming to notice her as he stepped down and started walking towards the woods. She furrowed lightly. He wasn't stopping at the perimeter that Rick had set. She stepped out from the dark and went after him.

When he reached the small graveyard, she whistled over to him. The lanky man turned around sharply and stared at her with wide eyes. He let out a hefty sigh when he saw it was her, putting a hand to his chest in relief.

“Scared the livin' daylights outta me, ya know that?” He muttered. She stepped up to him slowly and smiled.

“Sorry,” She said earnestly, her smile slowly fading once she looked down at his belt. He didn't have a weapon on him. “What are you doing out here?”

His small smile faltered and he shifted uncomfortably in place. “...Just thinkin'.”

Her eyebrow quirked up in disbelief. “Thinking.”

He nodded, his lips pursing in the process. “Just...thinkin', about what to do next.”

“We're going to DC next,” She remarked, watching as Bob scoffed and shook his head.

“Yeah, DC,” His head lowered and his eyes fell to his boots, “I'm, uh...I might have to pass on that...”

She frowned, watching as his raised his head to look at her, his eyes welling up with tears. “Might have to pass on a lot things with you guys.”

She heard his voice starting to crack and she stepped forward, confusion and worry overcoming her as he started to break down.

“Bob,” She called out, listening to his quiet, broken sobs in the dark, “Bob what's wrong?”

“I'm sorry, Kei,” He wept, “I'm sorry! I just don't know what to do next! I don't know how I'm gonna tell her!”

Kei wrapped a protective arm around him and held him close, the two of them looking back at the church.

“Who? Sasha?” She asked him, “What do you wanna tell her?”

He didn't answer right away. He just continued to quietly cry, his head falling onto her shoulder as tears kept spilling out. Kei wrapped her arms around him and held him close, gently patting his back and shoulder before furrowing. She felt something wet, something far too wet to be from a couple seconds of crying. She furrowed and lifted her hand, staring wide-eyed at what was on her fingertips.

“Bob you're—!”

Before she could say another word, something rushed up from behind and smacked her square in the head. Her vision flashed hot white for a second before being littered with black and red dots. She heard Bob's voice before something hard, yet soft landed on top of her. She let out a loud _ooph!_ as her breath escaped her, her eyeslooking up at the sky as shadows started to surround her. The stars blurred and faded out one by one as her vision went dark.

 

 

Daryl kept his body low and his footsteps quiet as he stalked through the woods. He could hear the walkers around him, gurgling and hissing and stumbling around, kicking up twigs and leaves with every step they took. There wasn't a lot of them around. At least four or five, all of them scattered, fairly distant from each other. He would have no problem taking them out if need be.

But that wasn't his intention right now. Right now, he needed to get to Carol.

The path she took was familiar. The two of them had only been on it several hours ago. And if that was the case, then he had a good idea where she was headed. And what she was planning to do.

She was heading back out to that empty stretch of road, and she was planning on taking the abandoned car they had found together. He figured as much. It was pretty obvious she was having thoughts about it. After all, she took the car charger they found and started using it right then and there. “For escape,” she said. “Just in case,” she said.

He heard a couple twigs snap and leaves crumple behind him. He turned around sharply, not uttering a word as the dark figure continued to slowly stalk up to him. It wasn't slow and sloppy like a walker. It was quiet, and cautious, their footsteps much like his own.

His heart lept up in his throat. He swore to God, if it was Kei following him...

“Psst!” A familiar voice hissed. “The hell are you doing?!”

He lowered his crossbow at an instant, and he mentally let out the biggest sigh of relief. It was just Sen. The lanky man stalked up to him with his staff out and already partially bloody on the ends. He looked around, his eyes narrowing into slits as he attempted to see through the dark.

“Jesus, can't see a fuckin' thing out here,” He hissed, turning back around to look at Daryl, “The hell are you doing out here?”

“I'm goin' after Carol,” He hissed back, “The hell're _you_ doing out here?”

“I was _trying_ to take a piss,” He heard the guy answer, “But then I heard everyone walkin' fuckin' around in here and got freaked out,” He let out a frustrated sigh, his voice still lowered to a hiss, “I literally can't see a thing out here.”

Daryl scoffed lightly and shook his head before gently tapping the guy's arm. “C'mon.”

The two of them walked further into the woods, listening closely to the various sounds that went off around them. As they drew closer to the abandoned street, they could hear walkers hissing and growling before suddenly stopping short. They heard grunting, and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground before everything went quiet again. When the two of them stepped out, they saw Carol there in the middle of the road, the light of the moon barely illuminating her tiny frame as she stood there with a knife at a hand. Two walkers laid dead on the ground at her feet, and a fully functioning Car stood beside her only a few feet away. Sen was half-tempted to applaud her. Fighting off walkers with just a knife in complete darkness, knowing full well the sounds of the rattling car engine would attract them. Damn.

“What're ya doin'?” Daryl asked, stepping forward cautiously before stopping. Carol hesitated for a moment, her eyes falling to the ground before looking at the both of them.

“...I don't know,” She said in defeat, shaking her head lightly. Sen tilted his head at her. He could tell she really _was_ struggling, her expression looking like she was physically being pulled int two directions, and it was making her uncomfortable. She w as torn between leaving, and staying to protect the ones she cared about. She really didn't know what it was that she was doing. 

“C'mon,” Daryl said softly, his head tilting back in the direction towards home. Home for now, anyway. Sen reached out his hand towards Carol, and she took it with a weak smile, gripping it gently in assurance. The man started leading her away from the car, but stopped when an odd sound suddenly rung in the air.

The odd, yet familiar sound of a car rushing down the street. Daryl quickly reached out and grabbed Sen's arm, yanking him back to retreat behind the back of the car. Sen latched onto Carol and pulled her with them, the three of them lowering their bodies as a car suddenly sped past on the road that intersected only several feet away. As soon as the car went past, Daryl quickly ran out and looked at it before running back. Sen stood up and watched him in confusion, jumping back as he suddenly started knocking out the tail lights with the stock of his crossbow.

“Wh-Wh-Whoa!” He let out, stumbling back a little as Daryl smashed the last tail light out, “What the hell are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?!” Carol yelped, “Daryl!!”

“They got Beth!” He let out, rushing towards the driver's seat. “C'mon!”

“What?!” Sen let out, still confused on what on earth was happening.

“COME ON!” Daryl barked, his voice making both Sen and Carol jump before scrambling to get into the car. The lanky nurse fumbled to get his seatbelt on and watched with wide eyes as they sped down the street, trailing after a strange car with a white cross painted on the rear window.

 

When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by fire. She could smell the smoke, and she could hear the wood crackling with the flames. She blinked a few times, struggling to focus on what was in front of her, and what was going on around her.

What was in front of her was a familiar pair of green eyes. Eyes that glowed brighter with the fire flickering in the reflection. Eyes that were warm, and frigid at the same time. Eyes that she realized, once she was able to focus a little better, belonged to a man she thought was dead.

But he wasn't dead. He was very much alive, and he was staring at her with a wolfish smirk.

“Wakin' up?” She heard him soothe, his eyes looking over her as his smirk grew, “Ah, you're back with us, huh?...”

She blinked a few more times. His face getting a little blurred before becoming clear. The pain from the blow to the back of her head still racked her brain, but it didn't stop her from staring bitterly at the man in front of her as he continued to smile triumphantly.

“Good news is...you're not dead yet,” He mused, scooting closer to the girl so he could pat her on the knee, “That's a relief, right?”

She tried shifting her body away from him, but was quick to find her hands bound behind her back and her ankles bound together. Her stomach twisted and her muscles tensed as a hand gently went to her face, calloused fingers gently swiping the hair out of her eyes and behind her ear before gently cupping under her chin.  
  
“I missed you,” He soothed, gently running his thumb across her bottom lip. She was half tempted to bite it off, and he could see it in her eyes. He smiled and let out an airy chuckle.

“You seemed to have gotten over us quickly,” His thumb slowly caressed her chin. “Can't say I'm surprised. Daryl is a tough guy to match.”

He smiled like a mischievous child, his eyes going from her lips to her face.

“Shouldn't be a problem once he's roasting over the fire, though.”

He managed to move back just as she jerked forward, her restraints keeping her from lunging at his throat.

“Don't you _dare_ touch him,” She growled, staring bitterly as he smiled warmly at her.

“I made a promise to you, Kei,” He held up a small chunk of meat. It was recently cooked, the heat still radiating off of it and onto her lips. She kept them pursed shut, Gareth pushing the small meal further towards her mouth.

“I saved some for you,” He chirped, his bright greens flicking down to her lips, “I know you haven't been eating. We've been watching.”

He looked back up at her eyes, the mischievous grin returning to his sweet face.

“It's because you miss it, right? The taste?...”

She gave him a nasty look, her lips still pursed shut. He sighed lightly, the smile still on his face as he stared over at makeshift grill the fire. “Once you've had it, there's nothing else like it.”

She took a harsh breath through her nose, her lips pursing as she stared at him firmly. “Where's Bob?”

“He's over there,” He said simply, tossing a hand in his direction. She struggled to turn her head all the way, but she could see a body laying limp and tied up against a small pole. She couldn't see if he was still breathing, but still, she called out to him anyway. He didn't answer.

“The good news is he's alive,” Gareth assured, gently tapping her thigh to get her to look at him, “And you're alive too. So it's all good.”

Her nose wrinkled as he sat down in the grass, trying to get a little more comfortable with her.

“I wanna explain myself a little,” He scooted closer to her, “You see, we didn't _want_ to hurt you before.”

“Bull _shit_ ,” She hissed out, her breathing growing more and more ragged by the second.

“We didn't want to pull you away from your group, or scare you,” He assured her, “These aren't things we _want_ to do. They're things we _gotta_ do...”

He scooted closer to her, his eyes still firm and never leaving hers for a second as he spoke. “You and your people took away our home...” His head lilted to the side like a snake, his brows briefly raising in understanding, “That's fair play. Now we're out here like everybody else, trying to survive...And in order to do that, we have to hunt...”

She let out a wry scoff. “Hunt _people_?”

“It didn't start that way,” He asserted, “It _evolved_ into that. We evolved. We had to...”

His bright greens flicked over to the fire that flickered behind her. Five other bodies stood there, staring down into the flames, licking their lips as they watched their meal char and cook. They no longer looked like wolves anymore. Wolves had control. They were like vultures, scavengers circling their prey.

That would soon change, though. There were two down now. And only a handful more to go.

He let out a sigh and looked back over to the girl. “Now, we've...devolved, into hunters.”

Her nose twitched a little before wrinkling, her expression turning most fowl. The corner of his mouth turned up into a weak half-smile.

“I just want you to know that none of this is personal,” He muttered, “Honestly, you yourself did nothing wrong, but the rest of your group...”

He sighed through his nose and shook his head a little.

“I mean, yeah they put us in this situation, and it's sort of a— _cosmic justice_ that it'd be happening to you and Bob over there,” His green eyes flicked over to the fire, watching as the flames licked higher over the grill, “But I just want you to know...we would have done this to anybody....We will...”

The girl frowned, not sure at where he was going with this.

“But, despite that...At the end of the day,” He chirped quietly, “No matter how much we hate all this ugly business....”

His eyes pointed over to Bob and stayed over there for an unusual amount of time. She turned her head and shifted her body around as best as she could, looking over to where he was looking at. The man was still unconscious, groaning and mumbling in his blacked out state. He looked unharmed for the most part, aside from most likely sporting an ugly bump on the back of the head from being knocked out. She didn't understand what Gareth was pointing at, at first.

Then, the girl looked down.

And she saw exactly what it was that made the man so smug.

Bob was in tact every where else. He had no cuts, no visible wounds anywhere on his body. He had one head, two arms, and two hands with all his fingers. Her eyes skimmed down his body and stopped at the thighs, her mouth dropping at the sudden realization that he was one lower leg short of being perfectly symmetrical. The area where his knee would have been was wrapped tightly with gauze, blood still speckling through the fabric. Her mouth instantly dropped and her stomach started twisting in agonizing knots. The need to scream was creeping up in her throat and she shoved it back down, keeping her lips shut tight as her breathing came out rapidly through her nose.

“I made a promise to you Kei,” She heard Gareth say, his voice drawing her attention back to him. He held up the chunk of cooked meat in his hands and smiled a wolfish smile. “Didn't I? I said, when this is over, I was gonna make you eat them in front of me...”

Her eyes flicked back over to the gaping space where Bob's leg would have been. It was gone, she thought. It was gone. It was being cooked over a fire and picked away by the Hunters. She felt sick. She felt angry. She felt like puking. She felt like screaming in hatred. 

“I know, you're thinking you can survive on stubbornness and water alone,” He sighed, scooting closer to the girl as she uselessly tried to scoot away from him. He placed a friendly hand on her leg and he watched as she tensed up, her eyes narrowing bitterly as she continued to keep her lips sealed shut.

“Trust me, that's not what's gonna keep you alive,” He muttered honestly. His lips twisted to the side as he held up the meat, his green eyes flicking down to it before looking at her. Another smirk stretched across his face as he held it up to her in a form of toast.

“Because at the end of the day, Kei,” He said as he put the chunk to his lips, “A man's gotta eat.”

And then he bit down.

 


	56. Four Walls and a Roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know that you've been out there, but I can see it,” He seethed, “You don't know what it is to be hungry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE'RE BACK.

Hours into their capture, and still nothing was happening.

Nothing except growling.

And chewing.

And clawing.

Walkers clawed at the glass window pane that separated them from the living and their own meal. The light from the fire and the scent of smoke and cooked meat had drawn them in. And they longer they stayed behind the glass, the rowdier they became .They snapped their deteriorating jaws and gnashed their rotting teeth at living, more and more dead ones piling up against the glass as Gareth walked up to them and watched them from the other side. Their milky white eyes were pointed right at him, watching as he put his hand up to the glass, right on top of a bony, rotting hand pressed against it on the other side.

Kei watched him from afar, her eyes narrowed, intently focused on the task at hand. Her binds were starting to burn against the skin on her wrists, but that didn't stop her from moving them around nonstop, trying to loosen them up.

“It's probably pretty stupid to be here,” She heard Gareth sigh, “Dangerous...”

She started pulling harder, wincing at the pain.

“...I dunno, maybe not,” He chirped, “Looking at them makes me feel better about things. My mom used to say that everyday above ground was a win.”

“Doesn't really apply anymore, though, does it,” She muttered bitterly, watching as Gareth raised his index finger.

“But, it gives you perspective,” He lowered his other hand and focused on the one pressed to the glass, “The glass is gonna break, sooner or later...Nothing lasts too long anymore...”

His hand slowly lowered off the glass and he turned around, a weak smile on his face. “But! You two are above ground now...”

He stalked his way over to Kei and knelt down to eye level with her, that smile still on his pretty face. “Better than being out there with them, am I right?”

Her lips pursed for a couple of seconds as she scoffed, “Not really...”

Her dark eyes pointed over in Bob's direction. He was fully awake now, and he was looking down at his missing leg in devastation. Gareth's bright greens flicked down to the chunk of meat in his hand, then back up to Kei.

“You'd rather be out there with them?” He asked, his head lilting towards the swarm of corpses behind the glass. He watched as the girl leaned in as far as she could, her coal black eyes dead set on his.

“The only difference between you and them, is that you guys have better table manners.”

The man's eyes narrowed for a second, before a dark yet playful smirk stretched across his lips. He hooked a finger under her chin and carefully stroked it with his thumb.

“That's quite a compliment coming from you,” He mused quietly, “Especially considering how you devoured that innocent family back there.”

A look of pure hatred flashed across her face and she opened her mouth, snarling as she moved suddenly in attempts to bite off his thumb. He jerked back quickly, and anger suddenly spiked in his stomach. He raised his hand and brought it down hard across her face, the sound of skin hitting skin making the others around the fire jump. He quickly slipped out his knife from his belt and started going for her neck.

“GARETH!” Bob shrieked, his breathing coming out huffs as he stopped the man just as she pressed the blade to her throat, “Gareth please!...Stop this...”

The former leader took a large, much needed breath, and let it out in a heavy sigh. His eyes flicked down to the blood that started dribbling from her nose, and the angry red mark starting to form on her cheek. Her eyes were pointed forward, staring over at the hoard as they grew rowdier against the glass.

He looked back over to Bob, the man panting and huffing, looking like he was on the verge of sobbing.

He retracted his knife from her throat, and gripped it firmly in his hand as he got up and walked over to Bob. He sat down in front of him, feeling calmer, and less heated as he stared at the devastated look in the former doctor's eyes. He was close now. He could see it. Close to losing that light of hope in his eyes. It wasn't long now, and the thought of that eased his boiling blood, and brought a warm smile back into his face.

“It wasn't just a trap you know,” He confessed, “It was gonna be a choice. You join us, or feed us.”

The doctor didn't answer. His eyes were lowered to the grass, down to his missing limb as Gareth continued to coo next him.

“You know,” He heard the guy say thoughtfully, “Bears, when they start to starve, they eat their young. If the bear dies, the cub dies anyway. But if the bear  _lives,_  they can always have another cub....that was part of the pitch...”

Bob finally looked at him, before looking back over at Kei. The girl was slowly struggling around in the grass. It looked like she was attempting to sit back up straight, the way she writhed and shifted her shoulders. He narrowed his eyes a little, unsure of what it was she was doing with her arms and hands behind her back.

“Mike and Greg were so close to nabbing that grey haired queen bitch who killed my mom,” He heard Gareth say. He looked back up at him, watching as he turned his head slightly, his voice loud enough so Kei could hear the next bit, ”She drove away with the Archer, and the bo-staff. Greg saw them pull away...”

The lanky girl laid still for a second, before shifting again. She didn't say a word in response. Gareth simply scoffed, shaking his head as his eyes wandered around.

“I can't wait to try her,” He quipped thoughtfully, “I like women better. Most of us do...”

His eyes fell onto Bob, watching as his expression twisted into a wounded one. He looked pained, distraught, and on the verge of crying. That only made Gareth want to press further.

“My brother Alex—Also currently  _dead,_ because of  _Rick..._ He had a theory that it was because of the extra layer of fat woman have, you know, for child bearing...”

He shook his head lightly, like he was amazed with this little fact, “Even the skinny girls have it...I'm sure Kei has it, despite, well, how much of a stick she is right now...I know the pretty ones have it too. Like that one girl, Sasha?”

The brunette could practically feel the poor doctor's heart sinking to his stomach. He could see it on the man's face, the look in his eyes as he slowly shifted and looked back up at him. Bob was pleading to him, silently screaming and begging for him to leave his lover alone. Gareth only leaned in closer, his intense green eyes staring directly into Bob's.

“I think pretty people taste good too,” He cooed, lifting his share of the meat to his mouth. He took a big bite and watched as the doctor screwed his eyes shut and started to shake. He huffed and whimpered through his nose, silently breaking down as Gareth and the survivors from Terminus continued to feast on his leg.

“We're gonna get all of them,” He said with a full mouth over Bob's quiet sobs, “But for starters, you and Kei will do just fine.”

The man's sobs started picking up. Gareth only continued on, pointing down to the empty space where the doctor's leg used to be. “We did a good job on that, now that I look at it. You were good practice. When we started, it was about making it slow...”

Bob's cries were falling into a strange hiss. When Gareth looked a little closer, he saw that the doctor wasn't actually sobbing. He was cackling. He was shaking with amused and manic laughter.

Right then, Gareth's smug grin fell. “I'm being a human here, I'm trying to talk to you.  _Perspective, Bob._ You're above ground...”

Bob only started laughing harder, the noise only making the walkers on the other side of the glass growl louder. Kei lifted her head and looked over at him with a frown. Why was he laughing? Did he finally lose it?

Others in the group started getting up and shuffling their way over to the two men sitting face to face on the ground. Chunks of meat were being cradled in their hands and casually chewed on as they looked down at him, the man full on laughing to the point where he looked like he was going to keel over.

“Well, poor bastard's lost it,” Greg, a stout man with a bushy beard scoffed. He bit into his share of the meal and started chewing slowly, watching as the small man cackled and shook. Theresa walked past him, looking mildly surprised as she popped the last of her share into her mouth and chewed.

“He lasted longer than I thought he would,” She admitted.

Bob let out another amused cackle, his voice coming out in gasps as he looked back up at them. “You...You  _idiots_ ,” He said through his laugh as it raised in volume again. Suddenly, the banging going on from behind the glass grew louder. The other Hunters turned to look back at it as Gareth held a hand out to try and calm him.

“Okay, just keep it down,”

“Bob...” Kei called softly, unsure of what what he was doing or what was happening to him.

“I can shut 'im up,” Martin mumbled, looking down at the guy bitterly through his two black eyes. The girl tried calling to him again and he only laughed harder, throwing his head back before rolling it around to look at her.

“It's okay Kei!” He let out, his voice lowering as he continued to chuckle and pant. “It's okay...It's okay...” He rolled his head back in Gareth's direction and leaned forward. He then lifted his hand and pulled the collar of his shirt and jacket aside to reveal his mangled right shoulder.

“I've been  _bitten_  you stupid PRICKS!” His eyes were the size of tennis balls, a grin stretching across his face as he giggled and gasped like a desperate asylum patient, “I'm tainted meat.”

Kei's eyes widened and her jaw nearly dropped as Gareth and the others suddenly shot back. Albert and Theresa turned away and tried to make themselves throw it up while Martin, Mike, and Greg spat out whatever was in their mouths. Bob only laughed harder, like a mad man and an evil genius watching as chaos unfolded before him. Gareth looked down at the guy with wide eyes as the others around him started to panic.

Martin slid out his knife and marched forward. “Let's just kill him now!”

“NO!” Kei yelled.

“No no no we need him!” Gareth exclaimed, holding an arm out and stopping the guy in his tracks.

“We might as well be eatin' one a'them!” Greg barked, holding an arm towards the walkers only a handful of feet away.

“What the hell's gonna happen?!” Albert yelped, his 16 year old voice cracking as his eyes were wide with terror, “Are we gonna turn?! Are we just gonna die?!”

“Albert, calm the hell down, we  _cooked_  him! We're gonna be fine!” The leader promised.

“Why the hell didn't you  _check_  him first!” Theresa seethed over to Martin.

“BECAUSE HE WAS FINE!” He barked back.

“TAINTED MEEEAAAAT!” Bob burst out.

Gareth pointed a warning finger down at him and he growled, “Shut up.”

“YOU EATIN' TAINTED MEAT!!” Bob shouted.

“I SAID SHUT UP!!” Gareth screamed, lurching forward to kick the guy square in the face. The poor doctor's head flew back and he keeled over with a soft thud into the grass, laying there limp as Kei screamed and struggled harder against her bonds. Her wrists were raw and burning as she furiously worked at them, pushing past the searing pain in her skin as she finally yanked a hand out and freed her hands. She started clamboring across the grass, heading straight for the rock only a couple of feet away. She reached over and grabbed it, turning around sharply to try and chuck it before stopping as Gareth let out a loud “DON'T!!”. She turned around sharply, looking over at the leader with wide eyes as he held her handgun down in Bob's direction.

“Don't you  _fucking dare,_ Kei!” He barked, pointing the barrel closer to his skull, “I will kill him!!”

Her nostrils flared for a second, her nose wrinkling as she stared bitterly at these so-called “Hunters”. Theresa looked at her uneasily, while Martin looked utterly amused. Ever since her fight with Kaylee, he'd found her anger to be quite a show.

“Now sit down...” He seethed through gritted teeth.

She didn't move.

“SIT DOWN!” He screamed again. He watched as her cold stare went colder before she sat back down. She scooted her way over to Bob, leaning over to nurse the angry red mark on the side of his cheek and mouth.

“Bob,” She called gently, wiping his sweaty forehead.

“Now we're all gonna keep our heads here,” She heard Gareth announce. She looked over at him with narrow eyes, “No one's gonna turn, and no one's gonna do anything stupid...”

He turned to look back at the rest of the group, the wariness clear on their faces as they exchanged breif glances with each other. Gareth held a hand out to them in solidarity, his voice level and calm.

“I have a plan in mind,” He told them, “And if we do this together, with level heads, we can get this over with in one fell swoop. Take out Rick and the others for good...”

* * *

Kei staggered through the woods, trying her best to keep up with Greg and Martin's footsteps as they dragged her along in the dark. She grunted through the bandanna gag tied tightly around her mouth, her mind reeling as they drew closer and closer to the church. Everyone was inside, with no idea where five of their own went. They had no idea that Gareth and a few others had survived, and were fully armed and prepared to wipe them out. Her heart raced loudly behind her ribcage, her breathing becoming more and more erratic as they finally reached the treeline. She could see the church windows dimly lit, with shadows occasionally walking across from one side to another. She could hear the low murmur of voices going off behind the walls, and the occasional pitched whine coming from what could only be Judith.

She struggled hard against Martin's grip, seething and grunting through her gag. She swore she was gonna kill them. Once she was free, she was going to kill them all.   
  
Greg gripped her arms tight and shook her once, forcing her to stop her squirming as Gareth and Albert finally caught up with Bob's limp body dragging behind them. They pulled him up ahead and left his body in the grass just a few feet outside the steps. Kei watched with wide eyes before she was too dragged out into the open space. Her eyes were on Bob the whole time as they pulled her along. He still laid in the grass with his eyes closed, his body not moving a muscle. Her world suddenly went sideways as they tossed her onto the ground, forcing her to hit her shoulder hard against the dirt path that lead up to church stairway. She grunted hard and stared bitterly up at the man staring smugly down at her. God, she hated that smile. It only made her insides burn more. She watched as Martin smiled before spitting only inches away from her face, his muddy boot coming up to give her a swift kick in the side before stepping away. She could hear a mix of footsteps going off around her. Light ones retreating to the woods, and heavy ones dragging their way towards her and bob. Her muscles tensed the minute she heard the familiar snarl and gasp of a walker and she immediately started struggling against her bound wrists. She tried to push past the stinging pain and the crippling fear as several rotted figures began emerging from the woods. Everything looked more menacing in the dark, and that included Walkers. Their decaying skin and the remains of their festering insides glistened against the dimmed light of the moon. Their teeth and their milky white eyes reflected off the moon's light, giving them an almost terrifying glow against the shadows of the trees and leaves around her. Kei worked at her wrists harder as they growled and staggered their way towards her and Bob. She couldn't get the stupid ties off fast enough. They were getting closer. She yanked and pried and pulled at them, writhing around uselessly in the grass as she tried everything to pry them off. She growled and grunted and whimpered and screamed through her gag, tears starting to fill and burn her eyes as the ties were cutting deep into her wrists. She wasn't sure if it was the scent of the blood or not, but one walker was staggering faster than the rest towards her. It's gnarled, fleshless fingers reached out to her and started lunging for her leg as she tried scrambling away. The girl screamed and kicked and flailed for her life, screwing her eyes shut for a brief moment as tears began spilling out rapidly. She felt a hand grip hard on her ankle and that only made her scream louder. So loud, she almost missed the smooth, pitched whistle that was let out from the woods.

Warm light flooded around her soonafter. She could hear the old wood from the church's front doors creaking as they flung open. She saw shadows rushing around her, and voices from all over shouting in every direction. A knife suddenly came down on the head of the walker that had her ankle in it's iron grip. She didn't stop whimpering and crying, her legs still flailing as she kicked away. She kicked it's head away so hard, it cracked into a 90 degree angle. Two sets of hands suddenly came down on her and fumbled to grab her, the girl still whimpering and screaming through the bandanna as she flailed around to get away. These hands weren't cold and steely though, and they didn't try to claw away at her. These hands were warm, and they were desperate to try and get her wrists so they could cut off her ties. She looked up through her teary eyes and saw Rick hovering over her with a knife in his hands. He carefully put the blade under her ties and pulled up, cutting them off at last. Her arms fell limp to her sides with a soft thud, the grass stinging the wounds on her her wrists. She didn't say a word to her leader. She just continued to look up at him, her eyes wide and full of tears. She didn't say a word as he quickly knelt down and picked her up off the grass, pulling her over to Tyreese's large waiting arms. He picked her up off the ground and hurried her inside. Back inside to the warm, inviting glow that enveloped the church. Once they entered the main room, her eyes flitted over to the small group of bodies knelt down on the floor. Sasha, Rosita, Tara—they all circled around Bob as he continued to lie there unconscious. Sasha's grip on the man's hand was fierce, her eyes focused on his as she kissed and whispered something into his knuckles.

Gunshots popped off behind her. Rick shouted something, and suddenly the others started piling inside. Michonne, Maggie, Glenn, and Abraham all retreated back in, Rick being the last before slamming the door shut and locking it.

 

It wasn't long before Bob finally woke up to tell what happened. Kei was sitting in the pew beside him, getting her wrists treated by Tara with what they had on hand. Sasha still had her hand gripping firmly onto Bob's, the distraught man looking down at his missing limb as the others crowded around to hear what he had to say.

“I was in the graveyard,” He huffed, “Kei was with me. Somebody knocked us out...”

“We woke up outside this place,” She quipped, hissing as Tara carefully swabbed at her cuts. Bob nodded lightly, his hold on Sasha's hand growing tighter.

“It looked like a—a school,” He added, huffing and panting as he tried to hold back the need to sob. “It was that guy...Gareth. And five other ones.”

His eyes stayed glued to his missing limb, his vision blurring with warm tears.

“They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing.” He whimpered, “All proud like they had it all figured out.”

Rick got down on one knee and scooted closer to the man, his eyes firm, but his voice soft. “Did they have Sen, or Daryl and Carol?”

The doctor paused for a second, his brows knitting as he turned his aching head to face him. “Gareth said the 3 of 'em drove off...”

He panted a few more times before letting out an agonizing groan. Sasha continued to hold his hand and rub his back before looking over at Rosita with desperate eyes.

“He's in pain, don't we have anything?”

The brunette in pigtails nodded lightly. “I think there's some pill packets in the first aid kit.”

Sasha nodded back and watched as Rosita started hurrying out of her seat. Bob's grip on her hand grew tighter.

“Save 'em,” He grunted. Sasha turned around to face him, letting out a shaky “ _No,_ ” as he continued to gasp in pain.

“Really!” He snapped through gritted teeth. She looked down at him with an expression tip-toeing between wounded and confused. Her brows knitted at him slightly, watching as he looked up at her with tears slowly creeping out from the corners of his eyes. He hissed a little as he shifted and slowly pulled back the collar of his shirt , revealing the gnarled bite mark on his shoulder. He watched as Sasha's expression fell and her eyes stayed glued to the bleeding wound. Her jaw went slack. Her pretty brown eyes started to well with tears. They finally made their way to his and his immediately started racing and breaking.

“I-It happened at the food bank,” He admitted quietly.

The whole room fell in stunned silence. Sasha's bottom lip trembled for a few seconds before she shook her head and flashed a pained smile. She rested a loving hand on his and whispered that it was okay. She shushed him as he continued to quietly gasp and sob. It wasn't a second later before he finally collapsed and laid flat back on the floor.

After Bob passed out, Gabriel offered up the sofa in his office to make the man more comfortable. It wasn't much, he said, but it was the least he could do. Sasha thanked him lightly while Tyreese went and helped pick him up to take him there. While the others helped Bob get comfortable, Rick was busy planning retaliation, and Kei was on board one hundred percent.

The rest of the group huddled around and prepped their weapons as Rick paced from side to side. Shadow followed his every step, watching closely as the leader explained the plan to everyone in the room.

“They think they're in control,” He spoke lowly, “We're in here, and they could be anywhere. But we know where they are.”

“....Plan's got stones, I'll give you that,” Abraham huffed.

“Make our move before they do,” Glenn spoke.

“That's right,” Rick said with a nod, “They're not counting on us thinking straight.”

“Are we?” Rosita quipped, a hint of bitterness in her tone. Everyone's eyes looking to her as she folded her arms, “I'm just making sure. It's a  _big_ play.”

His eyes firm with the same feral intent. “Remember what these people are capable of.”

Kei loaded up her weapon and pulled back the slide, a faint hint of satisfaction coming over her as she listened to the loud snap and click from the metal.

“The wolves will stay with Eugene and the others,” Rick instructed, turning to look over at Abraham. “Lor, Summer, Ren, and Ame. They'll keep him safe.”

The redheaded military man nodded firmly as he loaded his rifle. The leader nodded back before turning to look at everyone else.

“Shadow and Haru will come with us,” He announced, turning around to look over at Tyreese in the corner. “You up for this?”

Before the stocky man could answer, his younger sister stepped out from Gabriel's office. The tears and the wounded expression were long gone from her face. Now there was nothing but determination, and anger.

“I'm going with you,” She said firmly.

Tyreese looked over at her and he shook his head. “You should stay with Bob.”

“No,” She rejected, “I want to be out there. I want to be a part of this.”

And she left it at that. She turned back around and went back into the office, Tyreese getting up and going after her. Kei looked back to her gun and slipped it into her holster, her lips pursing as. She could understand how Sasha felt. They hurt someone important to her. They almost killed everyone else. She wasn't about to look the other way now. She wanted revenge. She wanted blood. Their blood. And she would get it.

Kei felt the same exact way. She was done. No more loose ends. The last time she let a threat live, it came back and killed people she cared about. No more, she said to herself.

“No more,” She pulled out her sword and inspected the blade before sliding it back into its sheath. She shouldered the strap and turned around to face the rest of the group, watching as Rick holstered his silenced pistol and whistled for everyone to follow him.

Rosita, Eugene, Tyreese, Judith, and the wolves all huddled into Gabriel's office to be with Bob. Carl and Gabriel went around and blew all the candles out in the church, engulfing everything in darkness as Rick and the rest stepped out to retaliate. After the last candle was out and Gabriel had locked the door, the two of them went back into his office to hide and stay quiet. Ren and Lor huddled closely to Judith's basket while Eugene ran an anxious hand through Summer's fur. Ame walked up next to Carl and stood there by his side, eyeing the door as he did. The young teen's finger tapped gently against his holstered weapon, his breathing steady with his pattering heartbeat. For a small amount of time it was just the sound of crickets and cicadas in the air.

Then there was the sound of creaking wood.

Then footsteps.

Then the sound of the door being broken open.

A low growl erupted from the wolves' throats and Rosita ran her hands through their fur to shush them. The tension was stifling as everyone in the small room struggled to listen and keep quiet. Gabriel grabbed for his rosary while Eugene continued to pet Summer. Carl took the safety off his gun and raised it up, pointing it right at the door as a familiar voice called in the air.

“Well, I guess you know we're here,” Gareth called, his voice eerily casual as he walked through the dark. “And we know  _you're_  here...”

“And we're armed,” He made known through the dark, “So there's really no point in hiding anymore.”

No answer. Gareth held up two fingers and signaled to move forward. The rest of his group crept slowly behind him, squinting through the dark as they took careful steps down the aisle.

“We've been watching you,” He cooed softly, “We know who's here...There's Bob, unless you've put him out of his misery already. And Eugene. Rosita. Martin's good friend Tyreese. Carl. Judith.”

Still no answer.

“Rick and the rest walked out,” He announced as they inched further and further towards the two doors at the end of the aisle. “with a  _lot_  of your guns....”

No answer. Not a single sound other than the footsteps they were making. Gareth's grip on his rifle grew tight as frustration was starting to creep in.

“Listen, we don't know where you all are, but this isn't a big place!” He called out, “So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be."

Still no answer. Gareth signaled for Albert and Mike to left door and for Greg to take the other on the right.

Behind the left door, Rosita sat there quietly with a knee to the floor and her shot gun raised, trying to keep calm. Her heart jumped when the doorknob started rattling. She re-gripped her rifle and took a deep breath telling herself over and over that she could do this.

"Look, you're behind one of these two doors and we have more than enough firepower to take down both!” Gareth spoke, “Can't imagine that's what you all want."

She heard a gun cock on the outside of the door and heard the creaking of the floor again.

"How about the priest?!” Gareth called out, Gabriel's eyes shutting tighter as he kept his rosary pressed to his lips, “Father, you help us wrap this up, we'll let you walk away from this. Just open the door and you can go. You can take the baby with you....What do you say?”

Another long pause. No answer from either side. Gabriel just kept his eyes shut and his shaking hands folded as he quietly mouthed a prayer.

The prayer faltered however, the minute Judith started crying. Everyone was on high alert as they looked towards the basket, watching as Judith fussed around and started crying her eyes out. Ren attempted to nuzzle her before Carl rushed over to pick her up.

Outside, Gareth and the others turned towards the door to the left, knowing smiles growing on each of their faces.

“I don't know. Maybe we'll keep the kid,” The leader quipped, “I'm starting to like this girl."

 

* * *

 

Everyone's rifles were now pointing at the door on the left. There were several more pleas and bargains, but none of them were met with a single answer. Albert cocked his weapon and turned to look back at Gareth, the leader shaking his head with a sigh before looking over at the door.

"It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out,” He said firmly.

And yet again, he was met with no answer. Martin stood next to him with his weapon lowered slightly, the man turning his head to give him a frustrated look.

“Are we done?” He grit.

The leader let out a frustrated sigh and hesitated for a few seconds. This wasn't going exactly how he had planned.

Finally, he just relented and signaled towards the door. “We'll hit the hinges.”

Everyone finally seemed to perk up. Albert and Mike raised their weapons once more and aimed for the hinges. But just before they could fire, a sharp airy pop cracked through the air and both their heads exploded one after the other. Blood splattered against the walls and their bodies fell to the floor with a hard thud. The remaining four all turned around sharply and faced the exit, unable to see what was looming around in the dark.

“Put your guns on the floor.” A familiar voice rasped from the shadows. Gareth's eyes widened for a second before he pointed two fingers towards the Preist's office.

“Rick, we'll fire right into that office!” He warned out, “So  _you_ lower  _your_  gun--”

Another sharp pop and something smacked hard against his two fingers. Before he even had time to react, both came flying off and when he looked down, blood began spurting out. Pain shot up and down his arm and he hunched over howling in pain. He gripped his wound tightly to stop the bleeding, the excruciating pain causing him to drop to his knees and whimper and groan. He looked back up, he was staring into what could only be described as a thing of nightmares, the embodiment of scary stories you heard as a kid. Large golden eyes, and sharp fangs, and fur as black as the darkness surrounding them. It was a demon dressed as a wolf.

Gareth shook in fear and shock from the pain as the wolf started inching towards him. The creature let out a menacing snarl as it bared it's fangs, and that only made the leader shake more. It almost looked like it was smiling.

Rick stepped out from the dark with his pistol pointing towards them. He walked along steadily with the nightmare on all fours. His face almost as strict and menacing as the wolf's.

“Put your guns on the floor and kneel,” He repeated. Gareth immediately shifted into a kneeling position, gasping at the pain in his hand.

“Do what he says!” He grunted, the others except Martin obliging. When Theresa set down her rifle and knelt, a low growl erupted beside her. She looked to her left and jumped slightly, watching as a long slender woman in dreads slowly inched out from the dark with a grey wolf by her side.

Martin continued to stand tall with a smug grin on his face. His weapon was lowered, but it was clear he had no intention of kneeling.

“Martin, there's no choice here,” Gareth bit, groaning immediately after as more pain continued to shoot up his arm.

The man in the hoodie looked over to Rick firmly, his expression surprisingly neutral. “Yeah there is.”

Abraham rushed out stealthily from the dark, his automatic rifle raised and only inches from the man's skull. “Wanna bet?” He growled out.

Martin looked over at him and then over to Rick before finally getting down to his knees. The rest of Rick's group finally emerged from the dark and every one of them kept their weapons aimed at the enemy's heads.

Kei stepped up from behind Rick and watched. She watched as blood seeped out from Gareth's hand and spilled onto the floor. She watched as he lifted his head and stared up at her with fearful eyes. He was begging her. Begging her to save him, to have mercy on him, but he was only met with an icy stare. That same ice cold stare that he'd try to melt with his smile or a funny joke. The same stare he had thought was so pretty was now going to be the death of him. She showed him no comfort, no sign that she cared even a little bit. She just watched him, her head lilting to the side like a snake as she carefully walked past him. Her movements were quiet and fluid as she slipped past him, and instead, she walked over to Martin, hovering over him, casting a shadow like a faceless evil.

Rick stepped around Gareth as well, forcing the leader to turn around and look at him, still kneeling on the floor. The former terminus leader shook as he clutched his wounded hand tight, his green eyes meeting Rick's menacing blues.

“N-No point in begging, right?” He quipped. Rick just started down at him, the look on his face dead similar to Kei's. Cold, strict, and void of any life.

“....No,” He said after some time. Gareth kept his eyes on him, his face growing paler by the second.

“Still, you could've killed us when you came in,” He made known, “There had to be a reason for that.”

Rick's expression didn't falter. He just shrugged lightly. “We didn't wanna waste the bullets.”

The sound of metal slowly drew Gareth's eyes away over to Kei, watching as she reached behind her and slowly slid out her sword. The light from the moon briefly reflected off the black and got in his eye, causing him to flinch and blink a few times. He looked down and saw Martin tense up and shake in place. He could hear Theresa quietly whimpering and sobbing to his right. He could hear the wolves growling lowly in the air.

Gareth's bottom lip trembled as he looked back up at Rick, finding no comfort in the look he was giving him right now. The way he watched him, studying him quietly like a kid on an anthill observing the results after torturing slews of ants. He showed no signs of life in his face whatsoever. Coldness and darkness was all there was.

“We...” He swallowed hard, wincing at the pain radiating through him, “We used to help people. We  _saved_ people...”

His grip on his bleeding hand grew tight as he tried to speak clearly, trying his hardest to get past the agonizing pain and fear that coursed through him right now. “Th-Things changed,” He admitted, taking a shallow breath, “Th-They came in, and—”

His eyes fluttered shut as another wave of pain came over him. He hunched over and gasped for a second before sitting back up straight again. He whimpered, taking a few deep breaths before maintaining eye contact with Rick again.

“After that,” He breathed, his vision blurring and shaking with his spasming muscles. He stared Rick firmly in the eye and leaned a little closer, a flash of bitterness clear on his face for a split second. “I know that you've been out there, but I can see it,” He seethed, “You don't know what it is to be _hungry._ ”

Rick didn't respond to that. Instead, he continued to watch the man, watched as he shifted and squirmed in place from the pain he had inflicted on him only moments ago. The former leader kept his eye contact as he shook his head, his eyes firm yet pleading.

“You don't have to do this,” He reasoned, his voice and breathing shaking between words, “We can walk away....And  _never_  cross paths again. I promise you.”

Rick finally broke eye contact to look over at Kei. The two of them shared a similar, deadpanned look before looking back at their respective targets. Gareth felt his stomach drop and twist as both their expressions transformed into something terrifying, their lips forming dark, little smirks as they looked down at him.

“But you'll cross someone's path,” Rick assured, his eyes deadset on Gareth's as he lifted his pistol. The former leader tensed up immediately and flinched as heard the pistol let out a little metallic  _click_. He watched as the man put on the safety and shoved it back into his holster. In all honesty, it did very little to relieve him, but he still sighed and lowered his head in slight comfort.

“You'd do this to anyone,” Rick quoted, his head tilting to the side a little so he could keep eye contact. “Right?”

Gareth looked back up and saw that the leader's hand was on another weapon—a machete with a red handle, holstered on the other side of his belt. Seeing that very weapon drained all the blood from his face, and a wave of fear washed over him as he remembered Rick's words from back at Terminus. His eyes flitted over to Kei's one last time, his bright greens wide and begging, practically screaming for her to do something. Her eyes only narrowed, narrowed in to a menacing smile as a dark smirk stretched across her lips.

Her expression was evil and teasing at the same time, as if she were chanting “sorry” in a tone that was anything but sympathetic. There would be no sympathy for him now. There would be no remorse. There would be no third chance. It was over. The end was at his door, and it had come bearing death.

“Besides,” He heard Rick say, turning to look back at him with wide fearful eyes as he pulled the machete out. “I already made you a promise.”

He reared his arm back and brought it down hard against Gareth's neck. The former leader was able to let out a loud “NOOOOO!” before his voice was cut off completely from the blade. Shadow lunged forward and started tearing the man apart—Haru doing the same to Theresa as she lunged for the woman's throat and tore it from her neck. The other Hunters began screaming bloody murder as the rest of the group started bashing their heads in with the butts of their guns. Sasha resorted to stabbing Martin repeatedly in the chest with her knife before Kei finally sliced his head clean off. She worked her way over to Greg and swung her blade along his spine, causing him to rear back before Abraham smacked him square in the face with the butt of his gun. He kept bashing his head in over and over, Kei hacking into his limbs and side until his insides were spilling out all over the floor.

The sounds of screaming and blood splashing and bones breaking filled the air for minutes before everything went silent again. Everyone's violent and erratic movements slowed to a stop until there was nothing but the sounds of their harsh, ragged breathing filling the air. When Kei was finally able to blink, she looked down and saw herself covered in blood, and guts were everywhere beneath her feet. Everyone's faces were splattered with red, all except Tara, Maggie, and Glenn, who had stayed back and watched the horror unfold. Haru and Shadow were still tearing away at Gareth and Theresa's insides, breaking their bones with their jaws and stripping off the meat with their teeth. Rick turned every which was to see the destruction they had caused, before looking back at the rest of his group.

“It could have been us,” He reasoned quietly, turning to look at Sasha as she looked down at Martin now dead and in pieces on the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, dripping past the splatter of blood on her face as she slowly started to process what had happened.

Gabriel's office door finally opened up and the Pastor stepped out to see the damage. Kei looked over at him and watched as his eyes went wide with horror as he looked around. Blood was everywhere, all over the floors, on the walls – staining old wood carvings, all the extra bibles and chorus books in the pews...This place that was once clean and holy and filled with life was now strained red with blood and full of death. Bodies were everywhere, beaten and gored and torn apart by people and wolves.

He stepped to the side as everyone who had just committed the ultimate sin retreated back into the office. His steps were careful as he tried to avoid the pools of blood and guts splashed all across the flooring. When he made it to the center of the room he looked over to Maggie and Glenn and their vacant stares and he shook his head in disbelief.

“This the Lord's house,” His voice peeped, sounding mortally wounded and shocked that something so horrifying could happen here. Neither Glenn nor Maggie bothered to look up at him. Their eyes were one the bodies littered all over the floor, and to the wolves who continued to tear them apart.

“...No,” Maggie said after some time, her eyes finally meeting the pastor's. “It's just four walls and a roof...”

* * *

Kei didn't sleep at all that night. Her eyes were on the front door of the office. She could still smell the blood, and hear their gutteral cries as they were being stabbed over and over. She could still hear the wolves' snarls as they tore the Hunters apart, reverting back to their most primal state and consuming them like it was their last meal. Her heart was on fire, and adrenaline was rushing through her veins. She felt wild. She felt high. She wanted to do nothing more now than run out there and destroy everything that stood in her way. She wanted to cut down walkers. She wanted to cut down plunderers. She wanted blood. She wanted to hunt.

“Kei,” A voice called softly. She looked to her right, seeing Rick sitting in the corner with Judith sleeping in his arms. The rest of the group slept soundly around him, everyone wanting to be in the same room tonight with Bob in his final moments.

“You should sleep,”

“I can't,” She admitted quietly, tilting her head towards the door. “I want to go out there.”

Rick's eyes flitted to the floor before looking back at her. “We haven't cleared out the bodies—“

“No,” She said with a shake of her head. “I want to go out  _there._ ”

He looked at her for a moment before lowering his head a little with a sigh. “Kei....” He muttered, lifting it to look back at her, “It's over now...”

“I know...” She said simply, unable to ignore the itching sensation, the annoying craving that picked at her thoughts. She shut her eyes and let out a sigh, leaning her head back against the wall, “I know, I know...It's just...I feel....”

“Alive,” He finished, gently patting his daughter's back while she stirred. “Awake.”

She opened her eyes again and looked at him, nodding as he nodded back in agreement. He scoffed lightly.

“We're insane,” He mused, earning a smile and a faint chuckle from the girl across the room. She nodded rapidly, leaning back to look up at the cracked paint in the ceiling.

“Definitely. Team fucking psychos over here,” She remarked with an amused giggle, “I don't know what Daryl and Sen see in us, honestly....”

Rick shrugged his shoulders lightly and shook his head, his smile faltering as his mind wandered back to the small fight they had only hours ago. God, that seemed so...small, compared to what's been happening. Why was he so upset that Sen was uncomfortable around him, after what he did? If he were here to see what they had just done...

“I think Sen's scared of me now, to be honest,” He admitted quietly, his eyes falling to Carl's sleeping form on the floor. “He has every right to be. After what happened back there...”

He hugged Judith a little closer, gently kissing the side of her head. “He has every right not wanting to be with me....”

“....What you did to that man to turn him away from you,” She spoke, earning a look from him as she sat up a little straighter. “He just needs time to really process what he went through. He knows why you did it, and he accepts that. He just...”

“Needs time,” He finished, scoffing lightly through his nose as he nodded. “I know...I just....miss him. I guess.”

The girl's lips twisted to the side in a crooked smile and slowly she got up from her spot. She carefully made her way over to him, stepping over sleeping bodies and blankets before finally making it to the corner and sitting down next to him. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes as Rick scoffed and leaned his head against hers.

“He still loves you, I promise,” She muttered quietly, a smile stretching across her face. “You should have heard him ranting about that time you spent in the house. He said you were a natural at—”

“Oh my god,” He mumbled, the smile clear in his voice as an airy chuckle escaped his lips, “He told you 'bout that?”

“Of course he did,” She chirped, “Best friends always spill the deets on good sex...well, in this case a hand—”

“Please go to sleep,” He interrupted quietly, clearly trying to hold back from chuckling too loud, “Please. I beg of you. Sleep.”

She huffed a little and snuggled deeper into his shoulder with a reluctant “Fiiiine.” before chuckling again. She felt Rick chuckle and shake his head before reaching over to give her a friendly pat on the knee. She patted his hand back and held as she drifted further and further to sleep.

“They'll be back soon,” She reassured him slowly, “Then things'll be okay again.”

She heard Rick let out a breathy sigh before his head leaned back against the wall.

“...Yeah,” He muttered back, his eyes falling over to Bob's sleeping form, and Sasha's who laid wrapped up in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Fucking Psychos for the win WOOWOOWOOWOO  
> 


End file.
